Furze Platt Fed president urges funding for small stores amid shoplifting surge

The national president of the Fed, who owns a store in Furze Platt, has reiterated calls for government grants to enable smaller retailers to enhance their security as shoplifting incidents continue to rise.

Hetal Patel represents 10,000 retailers in the trade organisation and recently discussed the challenges they face with Maidenhead MP Joshua Reynolds during a meeting on Friday, October 24.

A total of 529,994 cases of shoplifting in the year ending June 2025 were recorded by police in England and Wales, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics on the same day.

Mr Patel, who owns Stop ‘n’ Shop in Shifford Crescent, said while the 13 per cent increase is ‘shocking’, the numbers ‘come as no surprise to independent retailers’.

For years, he said, the Fed has called on the government to provide grants for small retail businesses to improve their CCTV, to act as a deterrent and to gather solid evidence to catch thieves.

“We welcomed the government’s summer blitz on town centre crime and the fact that it has pledged to put 3,000 new neighbourhood officers on the beat as part of its Plan for Change, but these numbers show more must be done,” the 52-year-old added.

“The introduction of a standalone offence for attacking shopworkers, which is currently making its way through parliament, is also a step in the right direction, as is the scrapping of the so-called £200 threshold.”

Previously speaking with the Advertiser, Mr Patel said he addressed the need for extra policing with the police and crime commissioner and has advised retailers to invest in their security systems.

“We also want the courts and law enforcement to work more effectively together to provide a robust judicial response to those who are charged and subsequently convicted,” he said.

“We hope that the latest disturbing statistics on shoplifting encourage the government to provide the financial help that is urgently needed to tackle the surge in retail crime.”

Furze Platt ward councillor, MP Joshua Reynolds, visited Mr Patel’s store and heard his concerns about retail crime as well as fears about the forthcoming Autumn Budget in light of the challenges caused by the government’s tax increases from the last Budget.

Mr Reynolds shared details of his own retail experiences, having managed branches of the Co-Op before entering parliament, and his work as a member of the House of Commons Business and Trade Select Committee.

They also discussed the ‘damaging effects’ that other costs, regulatory pressures and the forthcoming Employment Rights Bill would have on independent retailers and their businesses.

Mr Reynolds said: “It was great to meet the Fed’s National President, Hetal Patel, at his business in Furze Platt, which is a shop at the heart of the community.

“He clearly offers a range of important services, and it was good to see how busy the Post Office and his shop were.

“Clearly, this is a challenging time for small independent retailers like him, but I look forward to working with Hetal and the Fed locally and in parliament in the future.”

Beyond boosting neighbourhood policing through the Safer Streets initiative, the Fed believes ‘more needs to be done’, including grants to enhance security measures and to ‘beef up’ local authority Trading Standards, said the Fed’s political engagement coordinator Doug Oliver.

Mr Patel added: “As my MP and local councillor, I wanted to thank Joshua for his time visiting my business and listening to my concerns as well as those of our members, particularly some of the costs we face and pressures on margins of the products we sell.

“Given Joshua's previous experience in retail, many of our concerns are already on his radar, and he was sympathetic to them.

“The Fed is keen to work with members of all parties to support our members, and I look forward to further discussions with Joshua around helping independent retailers to survive in the future."