There has been a mixed, but broadly positive, response from retail sector organisations to commitments in the spending review announced by UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves yesterday.

The review promised spending boosts for the NHS, defence and housing sectors, as well as cuts in government spending. It also announced a 2.3% increase in funding for police forces, and other initiatives that could impact retailers.

Increased police funding was a popular move.

“With the huge rise in retail theft and the continued impact of violence and abuse on retail colleagues, we welcome the announcement of an extra £2bn for policing, and we support the plan for an additional 13,000 neighbourhood police,” said Tom Ironside, director of business & regulation at the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

“The Chancellor wants people to feel safer on their high street, and it is vital that some of the additional policing resources are focused on addressing both violence and abuse in retail, with over 2,000 incidents every day, and shoplifting, which costs retailers and their customers over £4bn a year,” he added.

Ironside also welcomed additional funding for effective public transport systems in the statement.

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However, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) called for greater funding for Trading Standards operations.

The spending review pledged an additional £80m per year for smoking cessation and enforcement projects, linked to the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. However, the ACS has previously calculated that Trading Standards teams alone would need at least £140m over the net five years just to deal with illicit vapes, with £30m needed this year.

“Retailers are losing confidence in the ability of the justice system to make a difference to the level of crime that they experience on a regular basis, both in terms of direct impact through theft, abuse and violence, as well as indirectly through losses to rogue traders selling illicit goods,” said ACS chief executive James Lowman.

“The investment in enforcement of the tobacco and vapes market is long overdue and will be welcomed by all responsible retailers who are sick of seeing  rogue operators trading with impunity in their communities. This must change, and if the £80m announced for smoking cessation and enforcement is properly-allocated to the front line, it could make a real difference,” added Lowman.

Retail union Usdaw welcomed the contents of the spending review.

General secretary Paddy Lillis said, “This spending review will help promote economic growth through investment and provide much-needed resources for our essential public services, which have suffered from 14 years of Conservative austerity.

“Our members are particularly pleased that police spending power will rise by 2.3% a year in real terms over the review period, providing more than £2bn for police forces. Usdaw is urging constabularies to use this investment in frontline policing with more uniformed officers patrolling our communities and high streets.

“Usdaw has long campaigned for legislative measures to combat the growing problem  of retail crime, theft from shops and the abuse of retail staff; that is now being delivered through the Crime and Policing Bill. Today we have heard the Chancellor’s choice to put the necessary money behind these legislative protections for retail workers, to help improve the police response to retail crime and ensure more criminals are prosecuted.”