For Labour, election success was just the start. Now it’s time to make good on the promises that took them to power. For retail, the new government is an opportunity for fresh thinking, new relationships and a different approach to the challenges the industry has faced over the last 14 years.
In many areas, our early engagement with Labour has been rewarded. The King’s Speech promised much-needed reform to the apprenticeship levy; a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker; and potential fixes for sluggish planning processes.
But positive outcomes will rely on continued engagement with government. For instance, while the replacement of the apprenticeship levy with a ‘growth and skills levy’ sounds great, we need to ensure it provides the flexibility to allow its use for pre-employment courses, functional and digital skills, and backfilling roles when apprentices are doing off-site training.
Encouraging retailers to invest in more skills and training will bolster productivity, improve career paths, and ensure people and businesses can keep pace with technological change. We look forward to collaborating with Skills England to ensure the future of skills training meets the needs of both employers and workers.
Meanwhile, the introduction of a standalone offence for assaulting a retail worker will only work if enforced. With over 1,300 incidents of violence or abuse every day, Labour needs to direct necessary resources towards tackling retail crime, including some of the 13,000 new neighbourhood police and community PCSOs promised in the manifesto. It’s vital those who commit violence are caught and prosecuted under the new legislation.
Similarly, action is needed to halt the spiralling rate of shoplifting, with the cost of retail crime now over £3bn. While the scrapping of the £200 threshold for ‘low-level theft’ is a good start, Labour must get tough on crime, or it will be everyone who pays the price through higher prices.
The King’s Speech also proposed an expansive Employment Rights Bill. While responsible employers will welcome the banning of exploitative practices, we’ll be watching the legislation closely.
There is also plenty that did not feature in the King’s Speech – for example, reforming business rates and the wide-ranging regulatory reform of our waste and resources system. Billions of pounds lie in the balance of decisions around deposit return schemes (DRS) and extended producer responsibility (EPR).
On DRS, the government needs to make its intentions clear as early as possible so that businesses have time to prepare. Retailers have been clear for a long time it will take at least 24 months to implement a multibillion-pound DRS.
A Labour government offers new opportunities. Given Labour controls both the national government and the Welsh Assembly, it is uniquely positioned to drive forward alignment between DRS in both nations, ensuring Wales drops the demand to include glass and brings its scheme in line with proposals in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
There is little information about how Labour will tackle some of the big food issues including obesity and food security. Tackling these requires big thinking – and it is imperative the solutions are applied right through the supply chain, rather than focusing only on the role of supermarkets. The reality is, supermarkets are leading the way in reformulating their products and improving healthy eating.
Our priority is ensuring Labour delivers on its promises. The BRC already has relationships with many now in government and we have embarked on an engagement programme for the new intake of MPs to help them understand the size and scope of retail’s contribution to the economy. This is why we ask members to support visits from local MPs.
Retail has a huge stake in the future of our economy, but the future of our economy also has a big stake in the future of retail. If the Labour government wholeheartedly buys into retail, it will reap the rewards through increased investment, more jobs, and thriving town and city centres – what’s not to like?
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