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A simple comparison of the General Election manifestos

24 Jun 2024

With less than three weeks to go until the General Election, Bira has produced a simple table comparing manifestos for Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Reform UK, and... Read more…

Independents Day message - supporting independent shops boosts local jobs and economies.

24 Jun 2024

With the annual Independents’ Day weekend coming up on July 6th and 7th, independent retailers have been reinforcing the message that supporting independent shops boosts... Read more…

Euro 2024 predicted to deliver multi-million-pound boost for independent retailers

24 Jun 2024

Research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has suggested 6% of shoppers will buy a new TV or electronic device during the Euros, 4% will purchase official merchandise and nearly 10% will... Read more…

Bira leads £1 billion damages claim against Amazon by UK retailers in landmark collective action

12 Jun 2024

A £1 billion damages claim has been filed against Amazon on behalf of retailers selling on Amazon’s UK marketplace for illegally misusing their data and manipulating the Amazon Buy... Read more…

Bira responds to KPMG Retail Sales Monitor report

10 Jun 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has responded to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for May 2024.
Read more…

Small independent Harrogate shop does it again at the national level with new awards glory

10 Jun 2024

Independent Harrogate computer shop Phase 4 Computers has been named as a finalist in the Tech Awards 2024.
Read more…

Knutsford fashion show highlights town's 'amazing independent shops'

10 Jun 2024

Independent boutiques in Knutsford have teamed up once again to showcase their new designs at the third Flash Fashion.
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Increasing numbers of UK consumers limiting their spending to goods on promotion

10 Jun 2024

Research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Pricer shows 27% now only buy grocery items which are on offer – a +6 percentage increase compared to 2023. 
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Taunton book shop to host three talks from climate specialists ahead of election

10 Jun 2024

Independent Taunton book shop Brendon Books is to host talks from climate specialists ahead of the general election.
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Bira releases new podcast exploring accessibility on the High Street

3 Jun 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association has released the second episode of its 'High Street Matters' podcast series, this time tackling the important issue of accessibility for independent... Read more…

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Retail industry reacts to Chancellor’s mini budget

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

Following the Chancellor’s mini-budget last week, the retail industry has been reacting to the support package for small businesses and independent shops….including some of the items conspicuous by their absence.

Following Kwasi Kwarteng’s statement, the Government provided further details to its plans to help cut energy bills for businesses through the new government Energy Bill Relief Scheme. The Government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices, and it will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022, as well as variable and flexible tariffs and contracts. To deliver the scheme the Government has set a “Supported Wholesale Price” – expected to be 21.1p per kwh for electricity and 7.5p per Kwh for gas. The scheme will apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 for businesses and will be reviewed in three months to inform decisions on future support after March 2023.

However, industry leaders have also said that the Chancellor’s economic plan failed to address business rates or VAT cuts that are needed to support the high street. The consensus view is that whilst much of the Chancellor’s statement was welcome, more support is needed for parts of the economy heavily hit by the pandemic and likely to come under pressure from households stretched by the rising cost of living.

Money notes

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) chief executive, James Lowman, said: “We welcome that the government’s plan aims to stimulate growth and incentivise investment by businesses. In the last 12 months local shops have invested £605million in improving services, making their businesses more sustainable, and creating secure local jobs.”

However, retail leaders also called for action on business rates before large bill increases are expected to take place next year.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “Retailers are facing immense cost pressures, not just from energy bills, but also a weak pound, rising commodity prices, high transport costs, a tight labour market and the cumulative burden of government-imposed costs.

“Yet what was missing from today’s announcement, was any mention of business rates, which are set to jump by 10% next April, inflicting another £800m in unaffordable tax rises on already squeezed retailers.

“It is inevitable that such additional taxes will ultimately be passed through to families in the form of higher prices.”

Experts at Altus Group predicted that total business rates bill are due to jump by more than £5.3 billion once the end of discounts for retail, leisure and hospitality firms are also taken into account.

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