Chancellor must cut business rates to rescue community wellbeing and save money

10 March 2020

Cutting business rates by 20 per cent and introducing a 2 per cent tax on online sales would not only help reverse the decline of high streets across the UK but would help to improve the wellbeing of millions.

That is the pre-budget message from Steve Murrells, CEO of the Co-op, who wants Rishi Sunak to look beyond the economic stats to the hidden human cost of boarded up shops and rundown high streets.

The Co-op’s Community Wellbeing Index, which enables people to go on line and compare their community with 28,000 others across the country, tracks the number of empty commercial units within a local community as a means of contributing to that areas relative score.

Tellingly, the index shows that in urban areas, communities with less than average wellbeing have more empty commercial units.

While combing the business rate cut with the introduction of an online sales tax will be revenue neutral for the Treasury, The Co-op believes it could end up saving the Exchequer billions in years to come. Last year, the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned that so-called ‘deaths of despair’ are rising in the UK, having already soared in the rust belt of the United States, as people turn to drink and drugs to combat social isolation and other signs of poor wellbeing.

Steve Murrells, Co-op CEO, said, “We all know that declining high streets are a problem in the UK given the loss of jobs and investment, but our Community Wellbeing Index has revealed that the true cost is a human one. Without a common place to spend time and socialise, people’s collective wellbeing suffers and this in turn can lead to pressure on public services and the public purse.

“As the government looks to deliver on its pledges to ‘level-up’ regions across the UK and review Business Rates I urge the Chancellor to look at the online sales tax as a cost neutral

way of not only creating jobs and encouraging investment in our high streets but also critically improving the lives of millions of people. In our view, that comes before anything else.”

Last year the proportion of empty shops in the UK reached 10.3%, with both major retail brands and small independent names closing their doors, faced with a powerful combination of changing consumer habits and rising business rates. In contrast, online sales have grown to 20 per cent of all retail sales.

Murrells also believes this move would quickly turn the tide in what he refers to as “failing town syndrome”, whereby the sight and state of a town’s high street has a self-perpetuating effect on how it is perceived externally, but also by those living within the local community. Healthy local high streets can support vibrant local communities and economies, which can in turn attract further investment into a town’s social, health, transport and education network.
He added; “We’ve got to put to an end to this notion that there are “worst” places to live. It’s simply not right. Our Index shows that every single community in the UK has something going for it. We want communities everywhere to aspire and flourish. To achieve that they need to be heard and they need to be in control of their future. This is what “taking back control” has to look like if we’re to build a post-Brexit Britain that is more inclusive and more united.” “Whilst one third of communities have below average wellbeing, our Index offers invaluable information that can power greater cooperation among community leaders, local and national authorities, as well as individuals and businesses. Together we can improve every local community in the UK.”

Ends - Media Enquiries: The Co-op Russ Brady Tel: 07880 784442

Notes to editors

About the Community Wellbeing Index The Community Wellbeing Index, created in collaboration with the Young Foundation and Geolytix, is the first measure of wellbeing at a local level across all four nations of the UK. The Index was developed with input from people across the UK as well as Co-op members, who helped to identify the key themes that contribute to a sense of living well. Evidence, frameworks and measures that already existed within the field of wellbeing were also reviewed, and industry experts from academia, think tanks, local government and the third sector were interviewed. This research informed the measures that can now be seen within the Index.

The Index contains data for over 28,000 areas throughout the UK, representing areas that people should recognise as the local community where they live. By entering a postcode, the Community Wellbeing Index will reveal a community’s overall well-being score and indicate its performance across nine specific areas including: education; health; equality; housing; employment and culture.

It is intended that the index will provide communities with an extra source of insight to help prioritise potential plans and initiatives to boost local wellbeing.

By bringing all this information together in one place, the Co-op, which has supported more than 16,000 local causes to the tune of £56m since it launched its new-look membership scheme in 2016, has produced a comprehensive, interactive index that can easily be accessed by everyone.

How the Community Wellbeing Index measures wellbeing:

• Education & Learning: The availability of good, accessible, affordable services to help all ages make the most of education and learning opportunities. • Health: Access to good quality public, voluntary, and social care services that promote physical and mental health in the community. • Economy, Work & Employment: Services and infrastructure in place to promote a sustainable, ethical, inclusive economy that meets the needs of local people • Culture, heritage and leisure: Access to affordable and inclusive cultural and leisure activities, services and amenities which celebrate the diverse histories of people in the community. • Transport, mobility and connectivity: Access to affordable and sustainable transport and communication networks for everyone, especially those with disabilities. • Housing, Space & Environment: Affordable, secure, quality housing, a safe and clean surrounding environment, and well-kept, accessible and inclusive public spaces for people of all ages. • Relationships & Trust: The state of family, social and community relationships and the impact of any breakdown in trust on issues like crime. • Equality: Equal and fair opportunities for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, colour, age, ability, sexuality, gender, income etc. Services and infrastructure in place to promote equality, equity and fairness. • Voice & Participation: Democratic governance and decision-making mechanisms in place to allow people to express themselves and take either individual or collective action to improve the local community and beyond.

Everyone can access the Community Wellbeing Index and better understand their local area by visiting: https://communitywellbeing.coop.co.uk/

About the Co-op: The Co-op is one of the world’s largest consumer co-operatives with interests across food, funerals, insurance, legal services and health. It has a clear purpose of championing a better way of doing business for you and your communities. Owned by millions of UK consumers, the Co-op operates 2,600 food stores, over 1,000 funeral homes and it provides products to over 5,100 other stores, including those run by independent co-operative societies and through its wholesale business, Nisa Retail Limited. It has more than 63,000 colleagues and an annual revenue of over £10 billion.