Retailers need to see support from ScotGov, says Fed
AHEAD of the Scottish Elections, The Federation of Independent Retailers (The Fed) has called on all parties to put independent retailers at the heart of their agendas.
In a message to the next Scottish Government at Holyrood House, The Fed’s Scottish president Uthayakumar Soundararajan has reaffirmed the importance of small shops in Scotland and has called on politicians to recognise this for the next parliament’s term.
He said: “We shared our manifesto with political parties earlier this year and continue to urge them to engage with us in the need to defend small shops through measures which limit commercial and government costs, reduce retail crime and help us prepare for big changes like DRS.”
The Fed has also called on the next Government to extend its support of retail crime across the country and tackle the rising rates that have been seen across the country for a number of years now.
Furthermore, Soundararajan has pointed out the much-needed support to tackle rising illicit trade across Scotland and called on ScotGov to provide essential funding for Trading Standards teams.
He said: “In recent months, we have highlighted the need for retail crime in Scotland to be tackled by better police responses, including an enhanced role for the Police Scotland Retail Crime Taskforce and greater resourcing for trading standards teams across the country.
“Across the sector, retail is a very competitive market and small shops play an important part in it.
“The Fed’s prime concern in terms of new price inflation is the impact of the Iran War which will be challenging for shops and shoppers alike. We want to work with the Scottish government and other stakeholders on realistic policies to limit its impact.”
