Responding to the Chancellor’s Spring Budget, Helen
Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium,
said:
“When shops we love shut down, when jobs we need are absent, and
when investment we benefit from is lost, it’s our lives and our
communities which lose out. Retail employs three million people
and invests over £17bn annually, yet the industry’s ambition to
deliver a net zero, digitally transformed future with higher
skilled, better paid jobs means its potential goes so much
further. It seems the Chancellor does not share in our ambition,
and today’s Budget will do nothing to deliver a better future for
retailers and their customers.
“The cost of living crisis has taken a toll on businesses and
households. Consumer confidence remains low and retail sales
volumes in 2023 were the lowest in four years. Yet the Chancellor
has done little to promote growth and investment, instead
hindering it with the business rates rise in April. This has
consequences for jobs and local communities everywhere – from the
smallest villages to the biggest cities.
“The cut to national insurance might go some way to supporting
households impacted by the high cost of living. However, unless
Government addresses the government imposed cost increases, we
may yet see the spectre of higher inflation return, limiting the
benefits to households of lower national insurance.”
On Business Rates:
“Government inaction will now cost the retail industry £470m
extra every year in business rates – money that could have been
better spent improving our town and city centres, investing in
lower prices, and maintaining jobs and commerce all over the UK.
How can a whopping 6.7% tax rise in April be justified, when the
Chancellor himself is saying inflation is forecast to be nearer
2%.
“This rise in rates does not exist in a vacuum – retailers are
also contending with cost pressures throughout the supply chain,
in the context of the largest increase to the National Living
Wage on record.
“Government has had five years to fix the problems with business
rates, as they promised in their election manifesto. Retailers
pay over £7 billion a year in business rates – over 22% of the
total raised by the tax. This is disproportionate, destructive,
and any Government that is serious about growing the economy must
address this as a matter of urgency.”
On VAT-Free Shopping:
“The UK remains the only European economy without a
tax-free shopping scheme, meaning we are missing a golden
opportunity to boost tourism and spending across the country.
Independent research from CEBR shows that the UK economy is
losing £11 billion a year because of the loss of tourism
resulting from, what is effectively, a tourist tax. Tax-free
shopping not only convinces tourists to buy more, but it also
attracts shopping tourism, supporting businesses and jobs in the
UK.”
On National Insurance, Alcohol Duty and Fuel Duty
freezes:
“Many people are still feeling the impact of the high costs
of living, and measures to cut national insurance, as well as
alcohol and fuel duties, will go some way to helping support
households during this challenging time. Putting more money into
people’s pockets is the first step towards bolstering the UK’s
weak consumer confidence and spending.
“However, increasing disposable income will only improve
standards of living if inflation can be brought to heel.
Retailers face billions in additional costs as a result of new
government policies – including higher business rates, a deposit
return scheme, and changes to waste electrical takeback, all of
which will feed into customer prices. Government must consider
the cumulative impact of introducing all these policies, and
more, in such a short space of time, or else risk a second wave
of inflation impacting households.”
On Crime:
“The Chancellor noted that burglaries and violent crime had
halved. This simply doesn’t tally with the experience of
thousands of those working in retail. The number of incidents of
violence and abuse rose to 1,300 per day in 2022/23 from 870 the
year before. No one should have to go to work fearing for their
safety. The Protection of Workers Act in Scotland already
provides additional protection to retail workers, so why should
our hardworking colleagues south of the border be offered less
protection? It is vital that government takes action –
introducing a new standalone offence for assaulting or abusing a
retail worker.
On the Apprenticeship Levy:
“Yet again a key opportunity has been missed to fix the
broken Apprenticeship Levy. This inflexible, outdated system
hinders retailers from effectively investing in their workforce.
Its inflexibility has deprived tens of thousands of people across
the country of potential apprenticeships and training
opportunities and stands in the way of career progression for
many people working in the industry. For many retailers, who are
unable to draw effectively from the Levy funds they put in, the
system is little more than a tax, adding the inflationary impacts
of rising business rates, labour costs, and supply chain
pressures.”
