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Future of Small Shops

The Petition of members of the Federation of Small Businesses and others, Declares that the House of Commons All-Party Small Shops Group estimates that there will be no independent retailers by 2015; declares that this equates to the loss of 50,000 small businesses; declares that the petitioners believe that small shops are struggling to survive because 15 Dec 2009 : Column 42P of local, regional and national Government policies, together with the failure of the competition authorities to deal with the aggressive policies of the supermarkets. Further declares that the loss of the UK's Independent retailers has far-reaching socio-economic and environmental implications for the whole community; further declares that superstores and small independent shops should not be considered as two separate markets. The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to take steps to secure the future of small shops across the UK and to safeguard the choice and competition that people expect on the market place; to create an independent regulator to ensure that local retail planning decisions do not have a negative effect on the interests of the local community; and to prohibit unfair pricing advantages such as below cost selling. And the Petitioners remain, etc. -[Presented by Andrew Selous , Official Report, 25 November 2009; Vol. 501, c. 644 .] [P000424] Observations from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills: Small retailers are the lifeblood of our economy and play an important role in our local communities. Their survival will be crucial to both maintaining employment and economic activity through the downturn and providing growth as we move towards recovery. Small retailers can access the same support and advice as any small business. The Government are continuing to improve and build on the delivery of services through the Business Link brand. Business Link provides the information, advice and support needed to start, maintain and grow a small business in today's competitive environment. A number of the recent measures introduced to help SMEs form "Real Help for Business", a cross-Government brand of outward-facing products and initiatives to help businesses during these tough economic times. In addition to providing immediate help directly to businesses, the Government's recent focus has been to ensure the banks have sufficient capital and liquidity, and then to ensure they use it to lend. Going forward, within the context of "Building Britain's Future-New Industry, New Jobs", published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in April 2009, we are developing new ideas to ensure that SMEs are able to grow when the upturn comes. On 5 May 2009, the Government published a consultation draft Planning Policy Statement 4 (PPS4): Planning for Prosperous Economies. The proposals recognise the importance of achieving a broad range of retailer representation, both small and large, in improving the attractiveness of town centres and promoting competition and consumer choice. Draft PPS4 also requires local authorities to plan proactively for their town centres, and make provision for a range of new development, which will meet the needs of the community, and create opportunities for small and large retailers. Small shops can add character, diversity and enhance choice and we are asking local authorities to make full and effective use of the tools that are available to them. 15 Dec 2009 : Column 43P The consultation period on draft PPS4 ended on 28 July and we hope to publish the final policy before the end of the year. On 14 April 2009 the government also launched the publication "Looking after our town centres". This guide is aimed at town centre managers and their local partners, and offers practical help in setting out how we can work together to make sure that our town centres reach their full potential. The Competition Commission's 2008 investigation into the UK groceries market concluded the market was generally working well for consumers and competition was effective and delivered good outcomes for consumers. However action was needed to improve competition 15 Dec 2009 : Column 44P in local markets and to improve relationships between retailers and their suppliers, on which subject the Competition Commission made a number of recommendations to Government. The Competition Commission's investigation looked at competition between convenience stores and large retailers and concluded that, although competition was intense, there was no evidence to suggest any distortions in competition. The Competition Commission's investigation also looked at predatory (below cost selling) pricing and concluded it was not part of a predatory strategy aimed at convenience stores or specialist stores and was not having significant unintended effects on smaller stores.