Matthew arranged a meeting between the Leader of Barnet Council and traders from across the Hendon constituency to discuss reform of Business Rates.

The current system presents considerable challenges to some smaller companies and businesses in the Hendon constituency. The Government has sought to support these through three measures announced in the Spring Budget:

i) Any business coming out of small business rate relief will benefit from a cap which prevents the rate that it pays from going up by more than £50 per month;

ii) £1,000 discount on business rates bills for all pubs with a rateable value of less than £100,000, which includes 90 per cent of all pubs in England;

iii) £300 million fund to "deliver discretionary relief" in local areas.

In addition to these measures, the Conservative Manifesto has made it clear that a future Conservative government will make longer term reforms to the Business Rate system to address concerns about the way it currently works. This will include ensuring that revaluations are conducted more frequently to avoid large changes to bills that businesses face, and explore the introduction of self-assessments in the valuation process. To ensure the system is sustainable for the future it will also conduct a full review of the business rates system to make sure it is up to date for a world in which people increasingly shop online.

Matthew said: "Small businesses are the backbone of our local economy and employ many local people so I want to ensure that they do not suffer as a result of online purchasing. In addition to Business Rate reform, I have held meetings with the Leader of the Council to discuss increasing the amount of parking available in town centres to help people use local shops and businesses."