ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed renewed calls from the influential Business and Trade Committee, urging the government to look again at ways to support small businesses.
The select committee had been tasked with conducting an inquiry into the government’s Small Business Strategy, which ACS provided evidence to. The committee’s report, published in February 2026, made over 60 recommendations to the Government, including:
- The Government should complete its review of the business rates system and incorporate more ambitious options for reform.
- To best support SMEs buying energy, the Government should introduce standardised billing formats for non-domestic customers.
- The Government should amend the business rates regime so that security prevention measures, such as CCTV, do not count towards a property’s rateable value.
- The Government should ensure that there is a named Assistant Chief Constable for every police force with explicit responsibility for tackling business crime.
Today (7th July), the committee have stated that the Government’s response to its report has been ‘inadequate’, taking up only six of the recommendations and restating existing schemes rather than developing new policy to support small businesses.
Liam Byrne MP, chairman of the Business and Trade Committee, said that “if Britain is serious about growing the economy, reviving our high streets and creating good jobs, we need a bolder, more ambitious plan to help small firms”.
ACS chief executive Ed Woodall said: “It is clear that this influential group of MPs understands the real concerns facing local shops and other small businesses. Retailers are facing into a cost of trading crisis through rising employment costs, higher business rates and an unpredictable energy market. We strongly urge the Government to look again at the recommendations of the report, which could incentivise good growth on our high streets.”
ACS has long called for CCTV to be removed from the rating list so that retailers don't have to pay twice to keep their colleagues and customers safe. ACS data on crime is referred to throughout the report, and ACS gave evidence in person to the Business and Trade Select Committee in September, highlighting the major impact that crime has on local shops.
ACS is also urging retailers to email the Chancellor as part of its #Checkout the Cost of Trading Campaign to highlight the challenges they’re facing ahead of the Budget. The campaign hub is here: https://www.acs.org.uk/campaigns/checkout-cost-trading
