High Street Businesses: Government Support

Melanie Onn Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship this afternoon, Ms Lewell. I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing the debate.

For some time now, there have been unrelenting efforts from colleagues across the House, many of whom are here today, to keep the future of our high streets firmly on the desks of Ministers. That reflects how important our town centres are not only to local economies but to the social fabric and cohesion of communities right across the country. High streets are where people come together. They are places of commerce, but also places of connection, identity and pride. When they thrive, communities thrive. When they decline, the effects are felt far beyond empty shop fronts and reduced footfall.

One issue that has become impossible to ignore is the growing criminality taking root on some of our high streets. Alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Leigh and Atherton (Jo Platt), I have been leading a campaign to shut down dodgy shops, which has now secured the backing of more than 50 Members from across the House. We were really pleased to meet the Chancellor recently to discuss the steps to tackle the organised criminal enterprises operating behind many premises. I am pleased that significant action has been taken across Government Departments to address the issues, some of which I will outline today.

Progressive announcements in the Budget included increased resources for trading standards officers— I feel I am repeating things that my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell) mentioned, but it is worth reinforcing. Budget announcements also included the creation of a dedicated cross-Government taskforce to develop an intelligence-led understanding of organised crime on our high streets; the deployment of 350 newly recruited criminal investigators in HMRC’s fraud investigation service; and the recruitment of 50 additional Insolvency Service staff through a new abusive phoenixism taskforce. These are important and welcome interventions, and they would not have happened if not for my hon. Friend and the APPG he so ably leads.

Under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026, the Government are introducing a licensing scheme for retailers selling tobacco and vape products, helping to strengthen enforcement and improve accountability across the sector. Most recently the Home Office announced a £30 million enforcement blitz to target organised crime gangs that exploit UK high streets, sending a clear signal that the Government understand both the scale of the challenge and the need for co-ordinated action.

All that will come as very welcome news to residents in communities such as mine in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, because local people are absolutely fed up with seeing their high streets abused. They are frustrated when they see businesses apparently operating outside the law, while honest traders who pay their taxes, employ local people and contribute to their communities in many different ways are expected to compete on an uneven playing field.

However, if we are to achieve the tangible change that communities want to see, the Government must go further and faster. Speed matters because, while we discuss these issues in Westminster and in rooms like this, more of these businesses continue to appear on our high streets. They pop up every single day. Every month that passes without visible enforcement undermines confidence in the rule of law and leaves legitimate businesses feeling completely abandoned.

If this is a Government priority, as I believe it is, we must consider how to encourage more local authorities to move the issue higher up their agendas. Many councils face severe pressures on resources and capacity, but tackling high street criminality cannot be viewed as an optional extra. It must be recognised as central to economic regeneration and community safety. We must continue to reinforce the message that these enterprises are not simply untidy retail operations or minor breaches of regulations: organised criminality, tax evasion, exploitation and fraud lie behind many of them. Frankly, their presence drags down shopping areas, deters investment and damages public confidence.

The prize for getting this issue right is enormous. Economically thriving high streets support local jobs, encourage investment and help small businesses to succeed. Socially, they provide communities with places that they can be proud of, and morally, they help to restore faith that the rules apply equally to everyone. In too many towns across the country people feel left behind, ignored and increasingly sceptical that the law is being enforced fairly. Pulling high streets away from criminal exploitation offers an opportunity not only to revitalise local economies but to rebuild trust. That is why I welcome the progress the Government have already made, but urge Ministers to maintain the pace, strengthen enforcement and ensure that communities finally see the change they have been waiting for.