LONDON (Reuters) - UK firms have no intention of offering big pay rises in the New Year wage round as they battle high energy costs and strong competition, according to the head of Britain's biggest business lobby group.

As the pay talks draw near, Bank of England policymakers are getting worried workers will demand higher wages to cover soaring utility bills and rising inflation and have twice raised interest rates to keep price pressures in check.

But Richard Lambert, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, told Reuters firms are in no position to respond to big pay claims because margins are being squeezed by red tape, a strong pound and intense competition.

"There is a question over what might happen in coming months ... but I don't at all get the sense that the approach to pay settlements is going to change from what it's been in the last few years," Lambert said ahead of the CBI's annual conference on Nov. 27. "That's obviously a concern at the Bank, but I don't see any sign of it."

Lambert is better placed than most to know what policymakers are worried about, having served on the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee until March this year.

Joking that he didn't want to sound like someone who had once worked at the BoE, Lambert said migrant workers had helped to keep firms' wage costs down, as had rising unemployment. "But the real thing that has helped keep wage inflation pressures down is that companies have been heavily squeezed by energy costs and they've been forced to hold down all their other costs, including wage costs."

Pay surveys have shown settlements at around three percent for most of this year, while the latest official data showed total earnings growth moderated to below 4 percent.