News that the £3m funding for Police Scotland’s Retail Crime Taskforce is to be maintained announced in the Scottish budget has been welcomed by independent retailers across the country.
Scottish members of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) have also cautiously welcomed support for small retail businesses on non-domestic rates through the Small Business Scheme, which was also announced.
Hussan Lal (left), the Fed’s Scottish President, said: “We’re currently assessing the details of the Scottish budget and there is encouraging news.
“Having engaged with Shona Robison and the SNP government ahead of the budget, we’re especially pleased the Retail Crime Taskforce is being retained. This is something we’ve been lobbying for as we’ve been encouraged by the impact it’s made in just a few months.
“However, this remains a challenging time for retailers in Scotland because of rising retail crime, high costs and new regulations, along with uncertainty about what will follow from the Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament after May.
“The Fed will continue to call for the Scottish government to back small independent retailers like Fed members through action to reduce retail crime - through targeted security grants and to control and reduce business rates bills - and further work to protect small shops after the election.”
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