THE Barclay Review into the long-term reform of Scotland’s fractured business-rates system really cannot come quickly enough.

As The Herald reported on July 8, the timetable for the long-awaited report had slipped by at least a month. It is now expected later this month. Yesterday’s retail sales index, covering the period between April and June and showing a “modest” rise in the volume and value of sales in Scotland, may have been welcomed in some quarters but it also served to strengthen the hand of those who have been pressing Scottish ministers to deliver concrete assistance to hard-pressed retailers. Added to the retail field’s plight is the fact that nearly 20,000 Scottish firms have appealed against their business rate bills ahead of the September 30 deadline. Something is evidently wrong with the system, as has been illustrated by The Herald’s coverage.

The case for long-term reform becomes ever more persuasive by the day. Scottish Labour says more aid needs to be given to small and medium-sized businesses. T he Scottish Retail Consortium, noting that customers and retailers alike are feeling the pinch, wants ministers to assist the latter with a reform that is simpler, more flexible and more competitive. No-one knows what the Barclay Review will recommend, but that would be a most desirable starting-point.