Minister responds positively to the Retail Jobs Alliance call on business rates, which is supported by Usdaw

Responding today to a question from a Conservative shadow spokesperson in the House of Commons, who had quoted the Retail Jobs Alliance and Usdaw, Business and Trade Minister Gareth Thomas said: “…time after time, his Government promised that they would reform business rates, but one of the reasons they lost the confidence of British business at the last election was because they did not act to reform business rates. We have said that we will introduce permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure. The Chancellor of the Exchequer set out our initial thoughts on that in the Budget in October, and we will publish an update on where we are on that issue in the coming months.”

Paddy Lillis – Usdaw general secretary says: “The hypocrisy of a Conservative MP quoting Usdaw’s view on business rates is staggering. They spent 14 years in government failing to deliver the change that that we and retailers were calling for. In stark contrast, Labour has acted immediately on coming into government to address the issue and we very much look forward to the results of their very welcome review.

“The current business rates system is not fit for purpose, as it places in-store retailers at a significant disadvantage to online retail. In effect, this amounts to nothing more than an unfair tax on shops. The retail sector was already struggling before the pandemic, and the cost of living crisis made matters much worse. Last year, nearly 120,000 retail jobs were lost and over 10,000 stores closed. Every job lost is a personal tragedy for the worker and their family; store closures are scarring our high streets and communities. We need action to help save our shops and retail jobs and we welcome the Chancellor committing to transforming business rates at the last Budget, after a number of missed opportunities by the previous Government.”