At its first meeting, the Retail Industry Leadership Group (RILG) also considered how to deliver the Scottish Government’s Retail Strategy and began drafting priorities to help businesses grow.

The Group is co-chaired by the minister for public finance, planning and community wealth Tom Arthur and the chief operating officer of the John Lewis Partnership, Andrew Murphy. It comprises senior business representatives, trades unions and industry groups.

It will work with the Scottish Government to help the retail sector meet current and longer term challenges while becoming stronger and more resilient. Fair Work and achieving Net Zero goals will underpin the group’s work.

Mr Arthur said: “This first meeting of the Retail Industry Leadership Group was timely given the cost crisis we are facing and allowed us to learn more about the impact on retail businesses, staff and customers. Implementing the Retail Strategy can help the sector seize opportunities, deal with longer term trends, and recover from immediate challenges.

“There is no single solution to helping retailers so, as we approach a challenging winter, it is essential the response from government at every level happens at speed, to address the nature and magnitude of the emergency. We support calls from businesses for measures related to energy prices, VAT reduction, staff shortages and handling business loans - direct support which falls within the reserved responsibilities of the UK Government.”

Andrew Murphy added: “I was encouraged by the positive and collaborative nature of our discussion. Given the scale and nature of the collective challenges we are all facing, this is both timely and vital.

“There was a shared concern around the impact inflation is having on suppliers, employees, customers and our communities through the current cost of living crisis. It is clear that both retailers and the Scottish Government continue to work hard to find ways to provide more support where they can.

“I’m excited by the evident enthusiasm of the Leadership Group to drive forward the implementation of the Retail Strategy. Fair Work, the skills agenda and the importance of retail in delivering high quality town and city centres are uppermost in our minds as we look ahead to the next few months.”