Scottish Retail Consortium urges MSPs to back ‘imperfect’ budget
6 January 2025, 00:04
The industry body said that while the budget does not make the cost of business cheaper there is much in it the sector supports.
The trade body representing retailers in Scotland has urged MSPs to vote for the Scottish Government’s budget.
The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said that while the budget was “imperfect” there was much in it that businesses support.
The budget, which was set out by Finance Secretary Shona Robison in December, is expected to be voted on in the coming weeks.
But the SNP, which is running a minority Government, will need the support of at least one other party to pass its tax and spending plans.
The First Minister and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government have signed the Budget (Scotland) Bill.
Through this Budget we will:
🔵 deliver a record investment in our NHS🔵 fund a universal winter heating payment🔵 mitigate the two-child cap from 2026 pic.twitter.com/jDegqEg9L7
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) December 17, 2024
While delivering her budget, Ms Robison pledged not to raise income tax for the remainder of the Parliament, which the SRC welcomed.
The group also praised the Finance Secretary for the freeze on property rates and for not going ahead with the mooted business rate surtax on grocers.
It welcomed the £3 million in Police Scotland funding ringfenced for action against retail crime which the SRC said has soared to become a “scourge” on the industry.
But it criticised the budget for not having “any measures” to reduce the cost of doing business in Scotland.
It said it comes at a time when retailers face “spiralling cost pressures” and the UK Government’s “colossal” national insurance hike.
The trade body said there was also disappointment among retailers over the rise in business rates for medium and larger-sized firms.
And it said it was sceptical over plans to consider additional tax powers for local authorities, such as “wealth taxation”, which it described as “somewhat ominous”.
The intervention, laid out in a five-page document, has been sent to ministers and Holyrood’s finance committee.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “Whilst the proposed Scottish budget is far from perfect and has flaws, there is much in it that retailers can get behind.
“Robust debate and scrutiny of the budget over the coming weeks is both right and necessary, however our hope is that ministers and MSPs can work collegiately to pass the budget without diluting the pro-growth measures during parliamentary horse-trading.
“A failure to do so risks adding a thick layer of uncertainty at a challenging time for retail.”
