BUSINESS RATES FREEZE

That this House notes that more than one in nine shops are currently lying empty; understands that two successive rises in the universal business rate (UBR) of 4.6 per cent in 2011 and 5.6 per cent in 2012 have increased retailers' rates bill by more than half a billion pounds; is concerned that a further rise of 2.6 per cent, the RPI figure for September 2012 by which UBR increases are traditionally set, will add an estimated £175 million to the retail sector's rates bill; believes that, combined with tough trading conditions, this will result in a number of retail businesses ceasing to trade, more empty shops on the high street and fewer new jobs, especially for young people; and calls on the Government to recognise that the retail sector has already made its contribution, by freezing business rates in 2013 and reviewing the mechanism by which rates are increased to ensure a fairer and more sustainable formula for the future.