The Association of Convenience Stores has written to the Chancellor ahead of the Spring Forecast on March 3rd, urging the Government to take urgent action to mitigate significant business rate hikes coming for local shops in April.

In the letter, ACS calls on the Chancellor to introduce permanently lower multipliers for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses that are a full 20p lower than the standard rate. The Government legislated last year to be able to reduce multipliers by 20p, but only went as far as reducing them by 5p in the Autumn Budget. As a result, retailers are facing four figure increases in their rates bills in April, with independent businesses and forecourts set to be the hardest hit.

The increases in rates bills will come alongside changes to employment rules and increases in the National Living Wage rate, which taken together will force some to make difficult decisions in their business, including reducing staff hours, delaying or cancelling investment plans, and reducing the availability of services for customers.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “This is an urgent problem that requires swift action to mitigate the cost increases facing retailers in the coming weeks. The Government has indicated that it wants to move to one major set of fiscal announcements a year, but local shops cannot wait until the Autumn for action on their rates bills. Retailers need meaningful permanent relief that gives them the freedom to plan ahead and invest in their businesses. This can be achieved by reducing the RHL multiplier by a full 20p, going further than the 5p already announced.”

ACS has consistently warned of the impact of business rates costs, and has called on the Government ahead of multiple fiscal statements to take action on rates bills. Additional measures recommended by ACS include the removal of CCTV from the rating list altogether, as retailers shouldn’t have to pay twice to keep their colleagues and customers safe, and extending improvement relief from 12 months to three years.

Earlier this month, an influential committee of MPs released a report scrutinising the Government’s Small Business Strategy. In the report, the committee recognised that current policy as announced in the Autumn Budget will do little to reduce rates bills for small businesses and recommended more ambitious reforms. The report also backed ACS’ recommendation to remove CCTV from the rating list.

The full letter to the Chancellor is available here.