The Government is called on to amend the business rates regime for small stores so that security prevention measures, such as CCTV, do not count towards a property’s rateable value.
The demand is raised in a new report from the Business and Trade Committee on the Government's Small Business Strategy released on Tuesday (Feb 10).
Businesses now confront both rising crime and the increasing costs of implementing crime prevention measures. Government should do more to help businesses protect themselves on the high street. Security investments should be supported not penalised, recommends the report.
The report shows how increasing retail crime has led businesses to spend more of their own money on crime prevention measures in recent years. According to the British Retail Consortium, retailers spent a record £1.8 billion on crime prevention measures in 2024, up from £1.2 billion in 2023.
Convenience store owners spent around £265 million on crime prevention; on average each store spent over £5,000 last year. This was spent on measures such as CCTV, staff training, body-worn cameras, cash handling, and Perspex screens.
When businesses do invest in security, they are effectively charged twice, as the installation of CCTV is likely to increase the rateable value of a businesses’ premises. Calls are now being raised to remove CCTV and security equipments from the Valuation Office Agency’s technical manual of what is included in a business premises’ rateable value.
The report states, "The Minister told us that while it was important that “investing in these things is something that is seen as being on the right side of the balance sheet”, such matters were for the Home Office.
"However, when we put these concerns to Sarah Jones, Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, she told us it was not their lead.
"On 26 November 2025, the Treasury launched a consultation seeking views on the impact business rates have on investment decisions. This will close in February 2026. Blair McDougall said that this programme is a “multi-year process”, and that “any reforms taken forward will be phased over the course of the Parliament”."