News

MP for Nuneaton Marcus Jones has visited a Heron Foods store on Nuneaton high street to discuss access to high streets and business rates.

The trade association representing local shops, and one of Britain’s biggest charities supporting young people have teamed up to offer apprenticeships in the convenience store sector.  ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) which represents the UK’s 50,000 convenience stores employing 390,000 people, is working with Centrepoint to give these businesses easy access to the system of apprenticeships which is at the heart of the government’s skills strategy.

Centrepoint will work with ACS and its members to:

The 2016 Local Shop Report has revealed the essential role that convenience stores play in the modern retail landscape, with stores more relevant than ever before in consumer’s lives.

Published today by the Association of Convenience Stores, the report demonstrates the value that local shops provide their communities, both in terms of investment and making a positive difference to their local area. Key findings from the report include:

ACS chief executive James Lowman has called on the House of Lords Licensing Act Committee to retain the current licensing objectives as part of an evidence session in Parliament, urging the Committee to focus on retailers that are not abiding by the law instead of imposing new restrictions on responsible retailers.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted evidence to the House of Lords Licensing Act Committee, urging the Committee to retain the current Licensing Act objectives and look at ways to reduce the regulatory burdens on retailers brought on by the Act.

In the submission, ACS outlines a number of ways in which the Licensing Act could be improved for licensees, including:

The Government has published its Childhood Obesity strategy, confirming plans for a levy on soft drinks manufacturers that produce high sugar products in addition to a range of other measures.

The measures announced today include:

ACS is encouraging retailers across the country to enter their villages, towns and cities into the Great British High streets competition 2016. Now in its 3rd year, the competition celebrates the great work that is being done to revive, adapt and diversify the nation’s high streets and is an opportunity for councils, businesses, community groups and volunteers to learn from the very best.

All retailers that handle cash must prepare their business ahead of the introduction of the new £5 polymer note, which will enter circulation on 13 September 2016. The new bank note will be printed on polymer, which is a thin flexible plastic material. Polymer notes last longer, stay cleaner and are harder to counterfeit than paper notes.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Low Pay Commission’s consultation on the future rates of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, calling on the Commission to take into consideration the impact of wage hikes on local shops.

In the submission, ACS raises concerns about the target that the Low Pay Commission was set by the former Chancellor George Osborne of raising the National Living Wage to 60% of median earnings by 2020, calling for the Commission to have its independence in considering future wage rates reinstated.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the independent review of the Access to Banking Protocol, which details how banks should ensure sufficient access to banking services following the closure of branches. This year-on review of the Protocol will consider the way banks have applied it in practice, and the extent to which pre-closure assessment, community engagement and local impact assessments have informed the identification of suitable alternative ways to bank.