{"id":294430,"date":"2025-12-02T07:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/294430\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T07:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:06:08","slug":"high-street-one-bad-budget-away-from-being-lost-retailers-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/294430\/","title":{"rendered":"High street ‘one bad budget away’ from being lost, retailers warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Retail leaders have warned the Scottish Government that the country is “one bad Budget away from losing our high streets as we know them”.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Retail Consortium has urged Finance Secretary Shona Robison to take decisive action when she unveils the Scottish Budget in January.<\/p>\n

The trade body is calling for business rate reductions to prevent Scotland from falling behind England competitively.<\/p>\n

Their appeal follows the Chancellor’s recent Budget announcement of a 10 per cent reduction for English retailers.<\/p>\n

The consortium said that without matching the reduction, Scotland risks becoming a “materially less attractive investment option” for retail businesses.<\/p>\n

The organisation’s director, David Lonsdale, has written in the Herald and contacted Ms Robison directly to express the urgency of the situation facing the sector.<\/p>\n

Mr Lonsdale noted that the Scottish Government has acted swiftly on business rates policy previously.<\/p>\n

He pointed to earlier decisions to introduce more frequent revaluations and to drop proposed surcharges on grocery retailers.<\/p>\n

However, he stressed that the current circumstances demand renewed intervention.<\/p>\n

He said: “Ministers have proved fleet of foot on rates before, for example delivering more regular revaluations and ditching the mooted surtax on grocery stores.<\/p>\n

\"Closing<\/p>\n

Retail leaders warn Scotland is \u201cone bad Budget away\u201d from losing its high streets<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

However, the warning is stark we’re one bad Budget away from losing our high streets as we know them”.<\/p>\n

The Chancellor\u2019s announcement last week has intensified pressure on Scottish ministers.<\/p>\n

The 10 per cent cut for retailers in England has created a substantial tax gap that the consortium argues could divert investment away from Scotland.<\/p>\n

The consortium said the disparity threatens to undermine efforts to maintain Scotland\u2019s appeal as a destination for retail investment.<\/p>\n

They warned that continuing the status quo could weaken attempts to strengthen town centres and support local economies.<\/p>\n

In his letter to the Finance Secretary, Mr Lonsdale emphasised the wider economic impact of successful retail businesses.<\/p>\n

\"British<\/p>\n

He argued that improving business rate competitiveness would support the shared aim of making “Scotland the best place in the UK to grow a retail business”<\/p>\n

| PA<\/p>\n

“When a shop thrives, so does the cafe next door, the restaurant down the street, and the town and city centre around it”.<\/p>\n

He argued that improving business rate competitiveness would support the shared aim of making “Scotland the best place in the UK to grow a retail business”.<\/p>\n

Mr Lonsdale urged the minister to act to protect the viability of Scottish high streets.<\/p>\n

“Given this, we implore you to back the economic viability of Scotland’s high streets in your Budget by introducing a permanent business rate discount for retailers from April which is at least as competitive as England’s discount.”<\/p>\n

The consortium wants a permanent discount rather than temporary relief.<\/p>\n

They argue this is necessary to safeguard the long-term viability of Scotland\u2019s retail sector and prevent investment shifting across the border.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Government has acknowledged the concerns raised by the consortium.<\/p>\n

Officials said announcements on non-domestic rates for the 2026\u201327 financial year will be set out when the Budget is presented in January.<\/p>\n

A spokesman said: “We will continue to work closely with businesses to drive economic growth and prosperity in our towns, cities and communities”.<\/p>\n

They highlighted existing support, including a business relief package worth about \u00a3730million.<\/p>\n

The Government said Scotland continues to have the lowest basic property rate in the UK, a position held for seven consecutive years.<\/p>\n

\"Rachel<\/p>\n

These provisions were in place before the Chancellor\u2019s announcement of enhanced discounts for English retailers.<\/p>\n

| GB NEWS <\/p>\n

Officials said these measures demonstrate ongoing support for businesses across the country.<\/p>\n

However, these provisions were in place before the Chancellor\u2019s announcement of enhanced discounts for English retailers.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Budget in January will determine whether ministers choose to respond to the competitive gap identified by the consortium.<\/p>\n

Retailers across Scotland will be watching closely to see whether the Government matches the reductions offered south of the border.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retail leaders have warned the Scottish Government that the country is “one bad Budget away from losing our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294431,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[35884,84,1294,2222,50,200,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-294430","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-across-the-uk","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-money","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294430"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294430\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}