The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has “broadly welcomed” the measures announced in this week’s Budget, but states the “devil will be in the detail”. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak revealed details of his Budget in the House of Commons on 3 March.

Measures pledged to help independent retailers include:

• Extension of the business rates relief for retailers until June. Then discounted rates of up to two-thirds for those hardest-hit.
• Extension of the furlough scheme until the end of September, with no change to the current terms until July.
• Fourth and fifth grants for self-employed (Self Employed Income Support Scheme), with more people eligible for the scheme.
• New restart grants of up to £6,000 per non-essential retail business. Also, up to £18,000 for hospitality businesses.
• New recovery loans scheme for lending between £25,000 to £10 million.
• Bigger incentives for businesses to hire apprentices.
• Free help for small businesses to boost their online operation through a Help to Grow scheme.

Commenting is Bira’s CEO, Andrew Goodacre.

“We broadly welcome the announcements for smaller retailers in the Budget; restart grants, recovery loans, furlough scheme and reduced business rates.

“A reduction in business rates for 2021/22 is welcome. But we strongly believe that the Chancellor has missed an opportunity to go one step further by not giving a full year of relief to non-essential retailers.

“This has been done in Scotland, and such a decision in England would only have cost approximately £1bn to give genuine reassurance to thousands of retailers looking to re-build their business.

“Also, we need an extension of the rent moratorium, so that businesses can look forward to making the most of the support being made available by the Government.”

Goodacre concludes; “These measures are certainly something that indie retailers can work with. But, as always, it will be a matter of there being ‘devil in the detail’.”

For further information on Bira, please click here.