In a rare parliamentary move, the Committee, chaired by Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP, has pushed back on the Government’s “inadequate” response to its report, in which ministers accepted just six of its 36 recommendations. The BTC has ordered the Department for Business and Trade to return within two months with a coherent, ambitious plan spanning tax, procurement, energy costs, and business crime.

The Committee’s frustration aligns precisely with the evidence the British Beauty Council delivered directly to MPs earlier this year.

When called to give evidence to the Committee’s inquiry, the British Beauty Council highlighted the severe, cumulative burden that government policy decisions are having on businesses across the beauty industry, many of which are the lifeblood of British high streets. The Council warned then that without intervention, escalating overheads would lead to widespread closures.

The Ongoing Threat to UK High Streets

The Committee’s updated findings show that the “cost crunch” for business has only intensified since its initial report in February. According to the report’s findings, small and medium businesses are currently battling a 40% hike in energy standing charges, a projected 52% rise in business rates over the next three years, and mounting employment costs via minimum wage and Statutory Sick Pay adjustments.

For the beauty sector, where 95% of businesses are SMEs or micro-businesses and physical premises are vital, these pressures are proving unsustainable.

Responding to the publication, Victoria Brownlie MBE, Chief of Policy & Sustainability, says,: “The Business and Trade Committee is absolutely right to demand that the Government think again. When we were called to give evidence to the Committee earlier this year, I made it undeniably clear that our sector’s small businesses are facing a perfect storm of cost pressures.

“The Government has attempted to address some of these concerns with the development of a High Streets Strategy, of which the Council was asked to input together with stakeholders from other industries. Unfortunately, it has been widely criticised as doing little to allay concerns regarding the future local business districts. Instead it seeks to repackage pre-existing schemes and commitments with little to help salons and retailers and other high street proprietors looking at soaring business rates and energy bills. The UK personal care industry contributes £28.3 billion to GDP and supports 595,000 jobs, playing a vital role in local communities as well as a significant high street footprint. We need a targeted, ambitious framework on tax and overheads, not a reshuffling of existing initiatives. The Government must rise to this challenge.”

A Call for Targeted Tax Reform

The British Beauty Council is particularly supportive of the Committee’s focus on tax administration and business rates. The Council has continually championed the economic data cited by the Committee, including research showing that even a 1 percentage point reduction in the tax rate reduces high street vacancy rates by 5%.

In tandem with the Committee’s demands, the Council has been engaging with the Treasury regarding targeted intervention on business rates for retail (including retail services such as salons) following the recent changes to business rates and revaluations which risk further hollowing out the high street.

The Council is calling on the Treasury to implement discretionary relief across the entire retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) sector, alongside greater measures to ensure digital tax parity, in order to stop online marketplaces from undercutting bricks-and-mortar stores.