Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, , is today
calling on the government to "do the right thing" and use the
money that the UK’s largest supermarkets are returning to the
exchequer to support businesses and individuals that desperately
need help to get through the winter.
Sainsbury’s has today announced it will join Morrisons and Tesco
in returning the money that they received when the UK government
announced in March that all shops in England would be exempt from
paying business rates this financial year. Taken together, this
amounts to £1.29 billion being handed back to the Treasury.
Dodds says that this money is urgently needed by those businesses
and individuals who have received inadequate government support
so far and could struggle to survive the winter. Labour is
calling on the government to “do the right thing” and:
Boost the support available for businesses in Tier 2 and 3 areas,
such as in the hard-hit hospitality sector, ending the unfairness
of the current system
Fix the gaping holes in the support for the self-employed, which
has left many people excluded from any government support
whatsoever
Throughout the crisis, Labour has consistently called on the
government to be more targeted in its approach to business
support, rather than taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach. In
Labour-run Wales, the government chose to cap its rate relief
package from the start, ensuring that the largest supermarkets
continued to pay rates at a time when many were registering
increased profits. The £100 million which this saved was used to
start the Welsh government’s Economic Resilience Fund, securing
more than 30,000 jobs which may otherwise have been lost.
In England, however, the UK government applied the business rates
exemption to all retail businesses, missing the opportunity to
target support to those who most need it. And ahead of the second
national lockdown, the UK government gave a one-off payment of
£20-a-head to every part of the country, irrespective of their
level of restrictions or how long they have been subject to them.
And for hospitality businesses, the UK government’s latest
support package is less than half – and in most cases less than a
third – of what was offered in the first lockdown. The Prime
Minister’s announcement of a one-off payment of £1,000 for
wet-led pubs in Tiers 2 and 3 doesn’t come near to making up the
difference.
said:
“It’s welcome that our largest supermarkets have done the decent
thing and returned the money they gained from the UK government’s
one-size-fits-all approach to rates relief.
“This should never have been necessary. If the UK government had
done as Labour asked, and as we did in Wales, it could have
targeted support to those who needed it right from the start and
saved many more jobs.
“The UK government must now urgently do the right thing and use
this money to fix the holes in its economic support schemes and
end the unfairness in the current system.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
On March 18th the UK government announced that all businesses in
the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in England would not
have to pay business rates for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-your-retail-hospitality-or-leisure-business-is-eligible-for-business-rates-relief-due-to-coronavirus-covid-19
The Welsh Government decided to adjust this relief and not extend
the 100% relief to properties with a rateable value of £500,000
and above. This decision affected fewer than 200 properties
across Wales but released approximately £117 million to
kick-start the economic crisis fund.
https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/support/business-rates-relief
Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco have each announced they will be
handing back the money they received via business rates relief
throughout the crisis. Taken together, this amounts to £1.29
billion.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55162714
The Government’s Additional Restrictions Grant provides a one-off
payment of £20 a head to every local authority in the country.
The amount is the same whether a local area is in Tier 1, 2 or 3
and does not increase the longer an area is under additional
restrictions.
The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) enables local
authorities to make payments of up to £2,100 a month for affected
hospitality businesses in Tier 2 and 3 local areas. That is less
than half – and in many cases less than a third – of the level of
the Small Business Grant made available during the first
lockdown.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-restrictions-support-grants-lrsg-and-additional-restrictions-grant-arg-guidance-for-local-authorities
https://labour.org.uk/press/tier-3-communities-in-north-and-midlands-set-to-miss-out-on-millions-from-key-business-support-grant-in-run-up-to-christmas/
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/health/coronavirus/government-accused-short-changing-north-over-business-support-3003604
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced a one-off payment of
£1,000 for all “wet-led” pubs in Tier 2 and 3 local areas. This
does not make up the shortfall between the LRSG (Open) grant and
the original Small Business Grant.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-announces-1000-christmas-grant-for-wet-led-pubs
https://labour.org.uk/press/last-minute-payment-for-pubs-forced-to-close-will-leave-most-more-than-3000-a-month-worse-off/
