Retail Industry Leadership Group meeting minutes: February 2026

Attendees and apologies

Items and actions

Welcome and actions from previous meeting

•    LB and KF welcomed members to the 13th ILG meeting and passed on the apologies of those members who could not attend the meeting
•    KF thanked ILG members for their contributions via the Retail ILG and for working constructively with the Scottish Government to identity opportunities and overcome challenges for the retail sector
•    It was noted that KF would stand down as Co-Chair of the Retail after her term in office concluded with ILG members expressing gratitude to KF for her contributions to the retail sector in Scotland
•    No members raised any comments regarding the actions from the previous meeting

Update from Police Scotland

ACC Tim Mairs (TM) and DSU Neil McDonald (NMcD) with PI Emma Wright (EW) presented an update on the Retail Crime Taskforce:

•    TM expressed gratitude to ILG members for allowing Police Scotland to provide these updates and for continuing to work with the Retail Crime Taskforce
•    TM acknowledged the challenges that the retail sector faces with high levels of shop retail theft before the establishment of the Retail Crime Taskforce. He also noted that shop retail theft had spiked recently following a period of decline. However, this increase was not unexpected following the Christmas period, and there have been similar spikes during previous years in the month of January
•    TM acknowledged a longer term rise in reported common assaults but that crime type is on a downward trend, although still at a high level
•    TM explained that the increased crime reporting for shop retail theft did not necessarily mean that there was an increase in crime. He drew on the findings of the recent Scottish Grocers Federation Crime Survey that reported a sharp decline in members reporting feeling that shoplifting was increasing and linked some of the increase in reported retail crime to the new direct crime reporting system
•    TM highlighted that the new direct crime reporting system was designed to make it easier for retailers to report crime and anticipated numbers will continue to rise due to this and increased confidence in Police Scotland taking action against retail-related crime
•    TM also considered other factors that had been linked to this increase, including the early release scheme. He stated that around 50% of cases of prisoners released early and much of the reoffending was related to shop theft. 
•    EW led a general discussion where it was identified that after the Christmas period shops may have less staff and security creating more opportunity for shop theft, which may partly account for the increase. It was also speculated that with less customers compared to during the Christmas period, existing staff may be more likely to notice these thefts which are being reported
•    TM showcased the work of the Retail Crime Taskforce with the detection rate for Retail-related crime increasing by 1.5% compared to last year and there was a significant reduction in the reoffending rate which dropped from 56.1% in the first quarter to 47.4%
•    TM also confirmed that Operation Dynos now operated within the Retail Crime Taskforce and their remit is to look more broadly into the intersection between violence and shop theft, particularly in the West of Scotland
•    EW provided an overview of tackling child exploitation by adults and diverting youths from crime. She clarified that there are complexities and that the West Working Group is working on challenging this in the West of Scotland
•    TM added that any learning from the West Working Group would be applied across the service, including in Edinburgh and other cities
•    TM talked about crime prevention by working directly with repeat offenders to better understand how best to intervene and linking this up with the prison service and third sector partners to stop them and others reoffending
•    TM also highlighted ongoing partnership working with The Futures Alliance, which is a third sector group that seeks to fill the gap in the employment market by upskilling former offenders. TM explained that the Future Alliance focuses on giving offenders employment opportunities with UK Government support in the transport and infrastructure sector
•    EW added that the Future Alliance offers a recruitment model to the transport sector which is more cost effective than standard recruitment processes as they build a charge into doing the recruitment which helps cover the support for low level ex-offenders moving through and sustaining employment. This becomes self-funding. EW acknowledged that Future Alliance currently has a limited presence in Scotland but she hopes they can provide a blueprint transferable to other areas
•    TM explained that the Retail Crime Taskforce is exploring evidence-based positive solutions, such as the one employed by Future Alliance, that is effective and self-sustaining and ones which retailers may wish to contribute to in the longer term
•    TM raised the issue of youth unemployment, which is listed at 15% in the UK and linked this to the higher cost of employing young people and other drivers
•    NMcD informed the ILG members that work is being undertaken to identify the highest harm individuals and repeat offenders with the intention of prioritising these cases. NMcD explained that the Retail Crime Taskforce’s role in this is to provide local police and divisions with all the information they need on who they need to target with the support of retailers and their collaboration
•    NMcD added that four adults have been charged with child exploitation in relation to retail crime. He acknowledged the significant psychological harm to retail staff at their place of work following retail crime and clarified that the Working Group wishes to tackle this without criminalising children that have been exploited
•    TM highlighted the value of the new crime reporting system being piloted which utilises automation compared to the old system, which was time consuming and had other flaws. TM informed the ILG members that the new interface will save time for retailers reporting crime and responding police officers with evidence being uploaded online and remotely assessable

Retailer feedback

•    LB praised the work of the Retail Crime Taskforce and welcomed the multi-year funding announced in the Scottish Budget
•    LB added that since the formation of the Retail Crime Taskforce there was a growing confidence in reporting for retailers. LB also agreed with TM in his explanation for increased reported retail crime citing her own experience in John Lewis piloting a reporting system, which led to increased reports in crime
•    LmCG and KO also praised the work of the Retail Crime Taskforce. LmCG also confirmed that the Scottish Grocer’s Federation is actively encouraging members to report retail crime
•    DL confirmed that the British Retail Consortium was set to publish a UK level crime report which finds that abuse and violence is declining
•    DL raised the prospect of ILG members to calling for funding to be diverted into youth activities, which would reduce youth retail-related crime. LB confirmed this would be considered at a future ILG meeting
•    KF confirmed that whilst there was currently no universal approach to employability in Scotland, the Scottish Government is open to suggestions on how the budget allocated to employability could be used on a national level, if effective schemes can be identified
•    KO added that Tesco had been working with youths and supporting young people into work via skills days to increase youth employability
•    KO also highlighted the issue of young offenders using free bus travel to travel to different areas to commit retail crime
•    GT raised the issue of illegal tobacco and organised crime, with links to human trafficking, trading with underage consumers. He stated that this illicit trade is negatively impacting on legitimate businesses

Police Scotland response

•    TM acknowledged the complexities of retail crime, which crosses into a lot of different areas and he stressed the importance of collaboration between Police Scotland, Retailers and other partners to tackle this
•    TM reassured the ILG members that there are positive outcomes in relation to youth crime with known cases of repeat offenders being eliminated after intervention with the support of retailers
•    TM added that Police Scotland are keen to work with retailers to identity existing projects that they run or are funding to help determine the most effective ones, which will have the greatest impact in hotspot areas
•    TM outlined the effectiveness of the work of Future Alliance and similar groups to tackle retail crime with data indicating that prisoners on the early release scheme went from a 50% likelihood of reoffending to a one in five chance. TM linked this significant reduction to providing prisoners on early release with meaningful careers
•    NMcD confirmed that the illicit trade was outside the remit of the Retail Crime Taskforce. However, he did recognise the importance of this issue, which is within his own portfolio outside the Retail Crime Taskforce. He also confirmed that tackling Illicit trade is one of the top priorities of the Scottish Partnership Against Acquisitive Crime

[ACC Tim Mairs (TM) and DSU Neil McDonald (NMcD) and PI Emma Wright (EW) depart]
Reflections on the Retail Crime Taskforce

•    ILG members reaffirmed their support for the multi-year funding of the Retail Crime Taskforce, which is achieving positive outcomes and showcases the value of frontline policing
•    There was general agreement among ILG members that more should be done to highlight the successes of the anti-Retail crime measure being employed, which includes the use of new technologies to act as a deterrent
•    KF shared in the desire of ILG members to showcase the success of the Retail Crime Taskforce, which could also act as a deterrent to would-be offenders. However, she also acknowledged sensitivities around confidentiality that Police Scotland adhere to where the use of case studies are concerned
•    KF also stated that the link between crime and skills shortages, particularly for young people, was worth further consideration to tackle crime. This includes how best to use existing funding for skills to address this
•    GT highlighted the need to tackle the perception that shoplifters are stealing by necessity, out of poverty to feed themselves and their family
•    MM proposed retailers collaborating with social media influencers to highlight the consequences of retail crime on staff to tackle the perception of retail crime being a victimless crime

Reflections on the scottish budget

KF offered some initial reflections on the Scottish Budget before inviting ILG members to share their reflections

KF provided an overview of the context around the Scottish Budget, including the impact of the decisions announced in the last UK Budget and what this meant for Scotland. She confirmed that the Scottish Budget 2026-27 will be set the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19 with Basic being set to 48.1p, Intermediate being set at 53.5p and Higher being set at 54.8p. KF also highlighted a package or reliefs worth an estimated £870 million in 2026-27, including 15% rates relief to retail premises liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate with a rateable value up to and including £100,000 in mainland Scotland. She also confirmed that the Small Business Bonus Scheme would continue and that there would be transitional relief to protect those seeing the most significant increases in rateable values. KF also highlighted the multi‑year funding for the Retail Crime Taskforce announced in the Scottish Budget

Non-domestic rates

•    ILG members highlighted the pressures faced by retailers with DL urging the Scottish Government to be more ambitious with the non-domestic rates relief
•    LB highlighted the importance of retail for social cohesion. She also warned that retailers face challenges regarding investment and growth
•    MM also warned of the challenges faced by those wishing to invest in Scotland with bills for Boots being 15% less in England than in Scotland
•    CS raised the issue of Non-Domestic Rates revaluation with one member of the Scottish Wholesale Association reporting a 40% increase. He added that the way business is classified is also a problem and business confidence is being negatively impacted by this
•    KF acknowledged the impact of the Non-Domestic Rates revaluation on business benefiting some but not others

Non-domestic rates reform

•    KF acknowledged the rigid framework of Non-Domestic Rates and the frustration of retailers about this and raised the prospect of reforming it
•    KF also admitted that reforming Non-Domestic Rates comes with its own risks and invited the views of ILG members on this
•    DL was open to explore reforming Non-Domestic Rates but warned that retailers are concerned about this being devolved to local authorities and the difficulties this could cause to businesses operating across Scotland
•    MM also expressed concern with Local Authorities having Non-Domestic Rates devolved when being reformed
•    KF acknowledged concerns from retailers about the devolution of Non-Domestic Rates to Local Authorities. She called for collaboration between Government and stakeholders when considering reform with stakeholders offering suggestions where rates could work better

Labour shortages

•    KF raised the issue of the labour market in Scotland which is tighter than the rest of the UK, particularly for young people between 16 – 24 years old. She invited ILG members to comment and make suggestions on how to address this issue
•    DH was critical of the apprenticeship levy which many businesses can’t access to address skills shortages with businesses perceiving this as another tax with no benefit
•    KF provided some context on the background of the Apprenticeship levy which is collected by the UK Government and is no longer differentiated from the rest of the Budget when the budget is allocated to the Scottish Government and this brings difficulties. She added that the Scottish Government is open to suggestions of a better approach
•    KF also raised another issue around labour shortages with figures nationally suggesting one thing while the reality for sectors, including retail, can be very different. She stressed that the approach to labour shortages should be sector specific and highlighted that the Scottish Government is open to ideas on this
•    GO agreed that it is important that addressing labour shortages are sector specific and support should allow progress upwards through management citing the example of management apprenticeships

Any other business

•    LB announced that the next meeting is provisionally scheduled for Tuesday, 19 May 2026, at the John Lewis store in Glasgow
•    LB also confirmed that the next ILG meeting will include discussion of regeneration plans, and future meetings to include other topics such as illicit trade, the use of retailers as fronts for organised crime, tobacco and vape licensing laws, and how the ILG could help shape the priorities of the next Scottish Government following the election

Action points

•    DL to share British Retail Consortium UK level crime report with ILG members post-publication
•    ILG members to provide list of what they do around youth-focuses activities to divert youths away from retail crime
•    ILG members to consider and share alternative ways for diverting youths from retail crime
•    KF to do what she can to help with the Apprenticeship Levy