...on the big issues that impact on the industry? We have identified five key areas - the national minimum wage, retail crime, red tape, business rates and health - where a new government could change things for better or for worse. As the election campaign enters its final stages, Rachel Barnes analyses the manifestos of Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to find out what the three main parties are proposing
Food and health
Forget all the big issues around food and health, because it’s clear the three main parties are more concerned about jumping on the Jamie Oliver bandwagon. His better school dinners campaign is felt in all three manifestos.
Labour has pledged an extra £210m for school meals and host of initiatives including minimum standards and a School Food Trust. The Tories say they will ban junk foods. And the Lib Dems have pledged to increase school meals funding and introduce minimum nutrition standards.
On the wider food and health debate, Labour has reiterated its commitment to simple “at-a-glance” labelling and says it will further restrict advertising to children of products high in fat, sugar and salt. The Tories have also backed the idea of honest labelling and say they will guarantee all publicly procured food carries the red tractor. The Lib Dems would restrict the advertising of unhealthy food during kids’ TV. Business rates
Business rates are still a hot topic after many retailers were hit hard by property revaluations earlier this month, causing bills to rocket - by as much as 80%. All the parties have addressed the disproportionate impact rates have on small businesses, but are they going far enough?
Labour says it has no intention of increasing the tax burden on business and has introduced a Small Business Rates Relief scheme.
The Tories would reintroduce government subsidies for transitional relief to compensate firms hit by large bill rises; smaller reductions to bills for struggling businesses whose yearly rent value has fallen; and provide support for property hotspots outside London.
The Lib Dems have pledged to make it “simpler, easier and fairer for small businesses to prosper and grow”.
Alan Toft, director general of the FWD, says: “The next government must take into account the impact on small businesses of tax rises.”National minimum wage
This issue is the one that comes up continually as the biggest concern for retailers big and small. And Labour’s plans to increase the current £4.85 rate by an inflation-busting 10% to £5.35 by October 2006 will spell disaster for many.
Labour’s plans are from the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, which will see the minimum wage rise to £5.05 this October.
On top of this, young adults, aged 18 to 21, will see their wages rise from £4.10 to £4.25 in October and then £4.45 in 2006. It says 1.6 million people are better off as a result of its introduction.
The Tories have decided that these hikes could sway much needed voters and has pledged to retain the minimum wage “together with proposed increases”.
The Liberal Democrats have only made a mention of the national minimum wage in their young people manifesto, which reads: “We will protect young workers on low incomes through an annual review of the national minimum wage by the Low Pay Commission, who will make recommendations on its level to the government.
“We will also end the lower rate minimum wage paid to those under 21 and ensure that everyone aged 16 and over was entitled to a full minimum wage.”
Kevin Hawkins, director general of the British Retail Consortium says: “The BRC is concerned that none of the political parties have really addressed the concerns surrounding the national minimum wage - one of the key issues in our retail manifesto.
“Above-inflation increases to the minimum wage are having a detrimental effect on the economy and many retailers are now taking steps to offset some of these wage cost increases by cutting staff hours, jobs and benefits.
“Decisions on the 2006 rate must be made in light of the state of the economy later this year - making promises and commitments on future rates at this stage is premature to say the least.”Retail crime
Crime is an emotive topic for the politicians and re-introducing neighbourhood bobbies is a cross-party favourite.
As well as pledging £340m a year to increase community support officers to 24,000 to work alongside an additional 12,000 police officers, Labour says it will continue to enforce the implementation of fixed penalty notices for shop theft. It will also free up the 999 service with a new number staffed by police and local councils to deal with antisocial behaviour.
The Tory Party promises robust action, including “scrapping Labour’s fixed-penalty notices for shoplifting, and stop treating shoplifting like a parking offence”. It will recruit 5,000 extra police officers a year.
New measures to combat antisocial behaviour include lifting restrictions on yobs cleaning up their damage. It will allow businesses to defend property with less fear of prosecution.
The Lib Dems will add 10,000 police and 20,000 extra community support officers. Excessive drinking will be tackled by cracking down on licensees and it will require some late-night venues to pay towards policing costs.
Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Federation of Private Business, says: “The main problem, highlighted by FPB members, is antisocial behaviour. Many members complain that first thing in the morning, time must be spent cleaning up from the night before. This ranges from clearing up vandalism to washing out doorways.”
Red tape and legislative burden
Red tape binds many businesses but smaller companies are often hit hardest. Labour says it will only regulate where necessary and will set targets for reducing costs of admin for regulations. “We will rationalise business inspections. The merger of the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise will cut the administrative costs of tax compliance for small businesses. We will take further action in Europe to ensure EU regulations are proportionate and better designed.”
The Tory Party has pledged to keep taxes low, as well as reducing burdens of business through deregulation.
“We will negotiate to restore our opt-out from the European Social Chapter and liberate small businesses from job-destroying employment legislation. All new regulation will have benefits exceeding costs.”
The Lib Dems say: “We will slash bureaucracy and over-regulation that is holding British business back - especially small businesses. No new regulation will be passed until a full assessment of costs and necessity is published. New regulations will automatically be scrapped unless parliament approves renewal. Endless inspections will be replaced in most cases by one all-purpose inspection.”
David Rae, chief executive of the ACS, says: “Retailers are cynical about pledges on regulation because when push comes to shove, governments ignore their own principles of better regulation - look at the Licensing Act as an example of bad regulation.”
Food and health
Forget all the big issues around food and health, because it’s clear the three main parties are more concerned about jumping on the Jamie Oliver bandwagon. His better school dinners campaign is felt in all three manifestos.
Labour has pledged an extra £210m for school meals and host of initiatives including minimum standards and a School Food Trust. The Tories say they will ban junk foods. And the Lib Dems have pledged to increase school meals funding and introduce minimum nutrition standards.
On the wider food and health debate, Labour has reiterated its commitment to simple “at-a-glance” labelling and says it will further restrict advertising to children of products high in fat, sugar and salt. The Tories have also backed the idea of honest labelling and say they will guarantee all publicly procured food carries the red tractor. The Lib Dems would restrict the advertising of unhealthy food during kids’ TV. Business rates
Business rates are still a hot topic after many retailers were hit hard by property revaluations earlier this month, causing bills to rocket - by as much as 80%. All the parties have addressed the disproportionate impact rates have on small businesses, but are they going far enough?
Labour says it has no intention of increasing the tax burden on business and has introduced a Small Business Rates Relief scheme.
The Tories would reintroduce government subsidies for transitional relief to compensate firms hit by large bill rises; smaller reductions to bills for struggling businesses whose yearly rent value has fallen; and provide support for property hotspots outside London.
The Lib Dems have pledged to make it “simpler, easier and fairer for small businesses to prosper and grow”.
Alan Toft, director general of the FWD, says: “The next government must take into account the impact on small businesses of tax rises.”National minimum wage
This issue is the one that comes up continually as the biggest concern for retailers big and small. And Labour’s plans to increase the current £4.85 rate by an inflation-busting 10% to £5.35 by October 2006 will spell disaster for many.
Labour’s plans are from the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission, which will see the minimum wage rise to £5.05 this October.
On top of this, young adults, aged 18 to 21, will see their wages rise from £4.10 to £4.25 in October and then £4.45 in 2006. It says 1.6 million people are better off as a result of its introduction.
The Tories have decided that these hikes could sway much needed voters and has pledged to retain the minimum wage “together with proposed increases”.
The Liberal Democrats have only made a mention of the national minimum wage in their young people manifesto, which reads: “We will protect young workers on low incomes through an annual review of the national minimum wage by the Low Pay Commission, who will make recommendations on its level to the government.
“We will also end the lower rate minimum wage paid to those under 21 and ensure that everyone aged 16 and over was entitled to a full minimum wage.”
Kevin Hawkins, director general of the British Retail Consortium says: “The BRC is concerned that none of the political parties have really addressed the concerns surrounding the national minimum wage - one of the key issues in our retail manifesto.
“Above-inflation increases to the minimum wage are having a detrimental effect on the economy and many retailers are now taking steps to offset some of these wage cost increases by cutting staff hours, jobs and benefits.
“Decisions on the 2006 rate must be made in light of the state of the economy later this year - making promises and commitments on future rates at this stage is premature to say the least.”Retail crime
Crime is an emotive topic for the politicians and re-introducing neighbourhood bobbies is a cross-party favourite.
As well as pledging £340m a year to increase community support officers to 24,000 to work alongside an additional 12,000 police officers, Labour says it will continue to enforce the implementation of fixed penalty notices for shop theft. It will also free up the 999 service with a new number staffed by police and local councils to deal with antisocial behaviour.
The Tory Party promises robust action, including “scrapping Labour’s fixed-penalty notices for shoplifting, and stop treating shoplifting like a parking offence”. It will recruit 5,000 extra police officers a year.
New measures to combat antisocial behaviour include lifting restrictions on yobs cleaning up their damage. It will allow businesses to defend property with less fear of prosecution.
The Lib Dems will add 10,000 police and 20,000 extra community support officers. Excessive drinking will be tackled by cracking down on licensees and it will require some late-night venues to pay towards policing costs.
Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Federation of Private Business, says: “The main problem, highlighted by FPB members, is antisocial behaviour. Many members complain that first thing in the morning, time must be spent cleaning up from the night before. This ranges from clearing up vandalism to washing out doorways.”
Red tape and legislative burden
Red tape binds many businesses but smaller companies are often hit hardest. Labour says it will only regulate where necessary and will set targets for reducing costs of admin for regulations. “We will rationalise business inspections. The merger of the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise will cut the administrative costs of tax compliance for small businesses. We will take further action in Europe to ensure EU regulations are proportionate and better designed.”
The Tory Party has pledged to keep taxes low, as well as reducing burdens of business through deregulation.
“We will negotiate to restore our opt-out from the European Social Chapter and liberate small businesses from job-destroying employment legislation. All new regulation will have benefits exceeding costs.”
The Lib Dems say: “We will slash bureaucracy and over-regulation that is holding British business back - especially small businesses. No new regulation will be passed until a full assessment of costs and necessity is published. New regulations will automatically be scrapped unless parliament approves renewal. Endless inspections will be replaced in most cases by one all-purpose inspection.”
David Rae, chief executive of the ACS, says: “Retailers are cynical about pledges on regulation because when push comes to shove, governments ignore their own principles of better regulation - look at the Licensing Act as an example of bad regulation.”
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