Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin has called on the government to conduct a strategic review of legislation and its implementation to alleviate the burden on retailers.
Citing divergence from the EU, changes to HFSS legislation, differences between countries’ deposit return schemes and tinkering with single-use plastic laws, Machin said: “I have never known the burden on retail sit as heavy as it does today.”
“On many of these policy areas we share the government’s ambition for much-needed change, however, when you put them together, they risk being overwhelming and unproductive, creating an unsustainable ask,” he added.
Machin also said, ahead of the Budget on Wednesday, that the UK’s apprenticeship levy and approach to skills “is not fit for purpose”.
“Talk needs to become action, with renewed focus on lifelong learning on the skills we need to build a modern economy,” he said. “There is a real issue – and opportunity – in mass upskilling of retail workers in digital skills.”
He called on the government to “roll out charging points for e-vehicles, including HGVs, and develop on-shore recycling for key materials, including textiles” to help with its net-zero ambitions.
The British Retail Consortium has also called on the government to make changes to the apprenticeship levy, which it said could boost lifetime earnings by £500m.
In its submission sent to the Treasury ahead of the Budget, seen by Retail Week, the BRC called for the levy to be broadened into a wider skills levy and businesses should be allowed to spend allocated funds on a broader range of courses.
The BRC also called on the government to work with devolved nations to create a coordinated approach and for more flexibility to existing courses.
In a wide-ranging list of requests, the BRC’s submission called for the reinstation of the VAT retail export scheme, a permanent extension of the green investment super-deduction allowances beyond March and a full review of card fees.
The BRC also asked for the business rates multiplier to be returned to its original level of 34.8p, keeping the energy bills discount scheme under review and have the government hold a “comprehensive review of potentially onerous and costly impacts” of the deposit return scheme.
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