News

UK consumers are buying two thirds less veg than the amount recommended by health experts. According to Government guidance on a healthy diet, 20% of our shopping should be made up of vegetables, but in reality we only reach 7.2%. Figures from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation show that as many as 20,000 premature deaths annually in the UK could be avoided if we all ate more veg.

Thousands of ACS members benefit from the protection of Assured Advice, helping retailers to deal with enforcement authorities. 

By following Assured Advice, retailers receive consistent interpretation of regulations, reduce the costs of complying with regulations, and reduce the risk of a major breach of compliance and the costs associated with failing to comply.

ACS’ assured advice scheme has been developed in partnership with Surrey and Buckinghamshire Trading Standards, and covers the following areas:

ACS is supporting the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on December 2^nd. This yearly event is an opportunity to raise awareness of Modern Slavery, promote how incidents can be reported and highlight the ways in which the Government is tackling the issue.

ACS is encouraging convenience store retailers to get involved in Small Business Saturday 2017, taking place on December 2^nd.

Small Business Saturday UK is a grassroots campaign which encourages shoppers to ‘shop local’ and support the small businesses serving their communities. Now in its fifth year, the campaign engages with millions of customers and aims to have a lasting impact on small businesses.

Highlights from last year include:

ACS has written to Exchequer Secretary Andrew Jones MP, raising concerns about the impact of the upcoming tobacco ‘track and trace’ regulations on retailers.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed comments from Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, about the importance of the UK cash machine network and the potential impact that reductions in interchange fees could have on local shops and other small businesses.

ACS is supporting the Bank of England Banknote Checking Scheme aimed at helping cash-handling businesses, like convenience stores, to check banknotes at the point of sale. ACS’ Crime Guidance 2017 found that the most common counterfeit notes offered in convenience stores were the English £20 banknote and the Scottish £20 banknote.

Further to yesterday’s Budget announcement, the Low Pay Commission has published its report and recommendations on the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates. The Government has accepted the recommendations and the rates will be introduced from April 2018 as per the list below.

Wage Rates to apply from 1st April 2018

Responding to today’s Budget James Lowman, ACS chief executive said : “Taken overall, this budget will have a net positive effect on local shops, which is good news for these important businesses and the communities they serve.”

ACS has welcomed the Chancellor’s action on more frequent business rates revaluations and moving annual indexation to CPI inflation, James Lowman said:

ACS is calling on retailers to share their experiences of retail crime over the last 12 months as part of the association's Crime Survey 2018.

The survey asks retailers to outline the number of incidents of crime they have experienced in their store, including shop theft, robberies and anti-social behavioural incidents. The survey also considers the causes of these crimes and the measures retailers have in place to prevent crime in their stores.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: