The Business and Trade Committee has repeated calls for more support for small businesses.
Commenting ahead of Secretary of State Peter Kyle’s appearance before the Business and Trade Committee, it said that the Government’s response to its report has been ‘inadequate’, taking up only six of the 60 recommendations and restating existing schemes rather than developing new policy to support small businesses.
Published in February 2026, the recommendations included:
- The Government should complete its review of the business rates system and incorporate more ambitious options for reform.
- To best support SMEs buying energy, the Government should introduce standardised billing formats for non-domestic customers.
- The Government should amend the business rates regime so that security prevention measures, such as CCTV, do not count towards a property’s rateable value.
- The Government should ensure that there is a named Assistant Chief Constable for every police force with explicit responsibility for tackling business crime.
The Committee said Treasury ministers have failed to engage with recommendations on business rates, VAT and tax administration, leaving major problems “unaddressed”, citing research from Professor Ben Lockwood shows that a “1 percentage point reduction in the tax rate reduced the vacancy rate for eligible properties [on high streets] by 5%”.
Since the report was published, the Federation of Small Businesses has also described a new “cost crunch” as energy standing charges rise by 40%, business rates are expected to increase 52% over the next three years, while minimum wage and Statutory Sick Pay costs also rise.
The Committee has particularly serious concerns about the response in six key areas, where it calls for an urgent rethink and fresh proposals from Government to ward off cost pressures that will only worsen otherwise – an unsustainable, unacceptable prospect.
It says Government must bring forward with a whole new response, within two months, with better proposals on procurement, tax, energy costs, the cost of crime, bogus self-employment and protections for franchisees.
Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Committee, said: Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, said: “Small business is the backbone of Britain’s economy, but too many now feel they are carrying a burden that is becoming impossible to bear.
“When we published our report in February, we warned that many firms were facing cost pressures comparable to the pandemic. Since then, those pressures have only intensified.
“We welcome the Government’s willingness to listen in some areas but too often it is repeating existing announcements, not confronting the problems businesses told us about first hand.
“Growth begins with small business. If Britain is serious about growing the economy, reviving our high streets and creating good jobs, we need a bolder, more ambitious plan to help small firms invest, hire and thrive. That is why we are asking ministers to think again and come back with a response that rises to the challenge.”
These renewed calls were welcomed by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which has long called for CCTV to be removed from the rating list so that retailers don’t have to pay twice to keep their colleagues and customers safe.
Chief executive Ed Woodall said: “It is clear that this influential group of MPs understands the real concerns facing local shops and other small businesses. Retailers are facing into a cost of trading crisis through rising employment costs, higher business rates and an unpredictable energy market. We strongly urge the Government to look again at the recommendations of the report, which could incentivise good growth on our high streets.”
ACS is also urging retailers to email the Chancellor as part of its #Checkout the Cost of Trading Campaign to highlight the challenges they’re facing ahead of the Budget. The campaign hub is here: https://www.acs.org.uk/campaigns/checkout-cost-trading
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