Chancellor urged to extend business rates holiday to sector

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement that office workers should return to working from home if they can for the next 6 months, the Flexible Space Association has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer urging new support is given to the flexible workspace industry.

The letter informs the Chancellor that there are over 6,000 flexible workspaces across the UK.  Many are SMEs themselves, and in turn they all provide a home and support to tens of thousands of SMEs.

The Chancellor has been urged to:

• Extend the 12-month Business Rates holiday granted to retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in March 2020, to the flexible workspace industry.  Following the new measures announced by the Government on working from home, our industry is now affected in a highly similar way to those sectors, and this same support is needed to help survive this period.
• Make a commitment that there will be a regular review of the guidance to work from home, rather than the clear suggestion it is in place for the next 6 months, and for there to be a clear aim of encouraging people to return to offices at the earliest opportunity.

Those working in the industry are urged to back these calls, by writing to their MPs and local business groups.

A copy of the letter can be found here.