Urgent reforms to the UK’s Business Rates system and Apprenticeship Levy are essential to support a retail and wholesale industry.
This is according to CBI Economics, whose new report suggests that retail and wholesale activity is now worth £352bn a year to the UK economy. It supports one in five of the nation’s jobs, with 5.7 million people employed within the sector or its suppliers.
In Scotland alone, the sector is worth £24.72bn to the economy and sustains 417,993 jobs. That includes:
