News

The Cross Party Group on Small Shops has launched a new inquiry in the Welsh Assembly today, looking at the essential contribution that entrepreneurs play in the economy and what can be done to help these businesses secure their long term futures.

The Inquiry will look at the following themes:

ACS has responded to a question in the House of Lords about plastic bottle recycling and a deposit return scheme, urging the government to listen to the views of convenience store retailers by including them in the DEFRA economic and voluntary incentives working group.

The Government has published the Taylor Review of modern working practices, setting out a series of recommendations on flexible working and increasing skills for employees.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to do more to help with the rising cost of employment and to ensure that wage rates do not have a negative impact on job prospects.

In its annual submission to the Low Pay Commission, ACS has raised concerns about the measures that retailers are being forced to take as a result of the National Living Wage increasing to £7.50 per hour in April 2017. Key figures from the submission include:

The Scottish Grocers Federation and Association of Convenience Stores have responded to an announcement from the Scottish Government commissioning further work into the viability of a deposit return scheme in Scotland, outlining the problems that a scheme would cause for retailers and urging the Government to focus on effective measures to increase recycling rates.

Retailers have launched an appeal against a ruling on through-the-wall ATMs being separately charged for business rates.

The ruling, issued in April, states that cash machines built into the front of a shop or petrol forecourt should be subject to a separate rates bill. This is especially problematic for free to use cash machines, as they are likely to be used more heavily than charged machines and their rates bills are calculated on the basis of the turnover of the machine.

ACS has welcomed an announcement from the Competition and Markets Authority on the future of rollover contracts for microbusinesses.

From today, suppliers will not be able to lock microbusinesses into automatic rollover contracts. In addition, measures introduced today will ensure that suppliers display prices online to make it easier for businesses to compare different tariffs.

ACS has responded to a new report from consumer group Which? revealing the worst areas for broadband speeds for the UK, raising concerns about the impact on rural shops.

Camelot has issued a new survey calling for feedback from retailers on how they can be supported if they’re concerned about a customer spending more than they can afford on National Lottery products.

The National Lottery provider is working with the Responsible Gambling Council to improve guidelines for retailers on how to approach excessive lottery play.

The latest research from the Association of Convenience Stores has shown that retailers in the South West are leading the rest of the UK when it comes to their optimism on future sales, how their business is performing right now and their future plans for staff.

Key figures from the survey include: