A spokesman from the Department for Communities and Local Government said:

We welcome the contribution to this debate from the Centre for Retail Research report. It is clear that high streets need to meet the changing needs of today’s consumers in order to prosper.

The government has supported 27 Pilots and 330 Town Team Partners across the country to promote innovation and joint working between councils, retailers and business.

We have cut business rates for small shops, scrapped Whitehall guidance that pushed for higher parking charges, and the local retention of business rates now gives councils a direct financial stake in their high street.

We have delivered a ‘town centre first’ planning policy, and are making it easier to get empty and redundant buildings in town centres back into productive use.