CBI director general Digby Jones will tonight call on the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee to cut interest rates in response to the downturn in the housebuilding market and consumer spending. The move follows the results of the Confederation of British Industry’s June survey, which found the highest proportion of retailers reporting falling sales in the survey’s 22-year history. “There are troubling signs of decline in the housing market where confidence is everything,” said Jones. “Such a loss of confidence is something the economy cannot afford. As there still seems little risk of inflation, the time for action is now.”