Business rates reform at risk of delay

Urgent business rates reform risks being delayed by the recent ministerial, the British Retail Consortium and other trade bodies have warned.

In a letter to the Treasury select committee seen by The Times, the groups urged MPs to publish the results of their business rates inquiry before the autumn budget.

The committee began its inquiry in February, with its findings due to be published next month.

Four out of 12 committee members have left in the past month, and with only nine parliamentary sitting days next month, the findings will be delayed until October at least.

Industry groups are frustrated that months of engagement with the committee could be wasted. “With high streets and town centres facing enormous challenges … we believe that it could not be a more important time for the committee to publish its views,” the lobby groups said in a letter seen by The Times.

The trade bodies say that the government should use the budget to freeze rates and remove downward transitional relief, which phases rates reductions over five years.