LONDON — In order to offer some relief to retailers impacted by this week’s British riots, Prime Minister David Cameron said in a speech to Parliament Thursday that the government has set up a 20 million pounds, or $32 million ,high street support scheme to “help affected businesses get back up and running quickly.”
The government will also enable local authorities to grant firms relief of business rates, and will allow individuals, homeowners and businesses up to 42 days to seek compensation for damage to buildings and property from the police under the Riot Damages Act, even if they are uninsured.
Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said that the measures “will give businesses hope that in affected areas life can quickly return to normal.” A report by the Local Data Company issued Wednesday said that over 10 percent of the U.K.’s retail and leisure businesses had been affected by the rioting. And according to another report produced by Britain’s Centre for Retail Research for Kelkoo, an online shopping adviser, the riots have already cost Britain’s retailers 80 million pounds, or $130 million, in lost sales alone. Adding to that the cost of repairing damage to stores, the organization estimated that British retailers and insurers would be faced with a collective bill of 141 million pounds, or $229 million, following the riots.
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During the debate in the House of Commons Thursday, for which parliament had been recalled during its summer break, Cameron said that more than 1,500 people across the U.K. had been arrested so far in relation to the riots, and added that courts are working through the night to process the charges. As a preventative measure, 16,000 police will continue to patrol London’s street over the coming weekend. “As a result of the robust and uncompromising measures we have taken, good progress is being made in restoring order to the streets of London and other cities across our country,” Cameron said.