The Conservatives set out plans to tackle retail crime as Rishi Sunak unveiled its manifesto but his proposed changes on business rates were met with disappointment.
The Tories pledged a £4.3bn of business rates support for small businesses over the next five years and to “continue to ease the burden of business rates for high street, leisure and hospitality businesses” by increasing the multiplier on distribution warehouses that support online shopping over time.
However, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson claimed the manifesto “fails to take the bull by the horns, leaving many ongoing challenges, from business rates to apprenticeships, without clear solutions”.
She said: “With business rates now at a record high of 54.6p in the pound, the Conservative promise to ‘continue to ease the burden of business rates’ for businesses on the high street will ring hollow to many retailers.
“Despite previous promises to reform the broken business rates system, we continue to see empty shops around the country that have fallen prey to sky high rates. And while the full details of the proposals to offset high street business rates by raising rates for warehousing would need to be seen, it is hard to see it as a viable solution given the wide range of retailers that sell goods online as well as from stores.”
New West End Company chief executive Dee Corsi termed the manifesto a “missed opportunity to show a serious commitment to business growth”.
“The idea of increasing business rate multipliers on distribution warehouses ignores the fact that modern retailers sell both online and in-store. This, compounded with the decision to not reintroduce tax-free shopping, would further squeeze UK business,” she said. “We hope that any future government will fundamentally reform the rates system that continues to place a financial burden on businesses large and small.”
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It comes after Labour vowed to reform business rates over the weekend, and the Lib Dems said they would replace the tax with a commercial landowner levy.
Elsewhere, the Conservatives pledged to create 100,000 more apprenticeships. Dickinson welcomed the move but pointed out that “the rigidity” of the apprenticeship levy means that “many businesses are unable to draw upon their own funds, meaning vital opportunities to upskill the workforce are lost”.
“We need to see a wider skills levy that allows retailers to invest in vital training including pre-employment courses, short courses encompassing functional and digital skills, and other advanced courses that will meet the needs of a modern workforce,” she added.
Sunak also reaffirmed his ambition to introduce a separate offence for assaulting retail workers. He had set out plans in April to introduce the new offence in the Criminal Justice Bill but the process was delayed by the calling of the general election.
It comes as daily incidents of violence and abuse towards staff employees skyrocketed 50% last year amid the cost-of-living crisis.
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