Press Releases

Official figures from the Home Office published today (30^th March) have again shown the link between the Covid-19 pandemic and crimes committed against wholesalers and retailers. 

The Home Office data showed that nearly half (46%) of retailers perceived an increase in levels of violence and assault between April 2020 and March 2021. These findings closely align with ACS' 2022 Crime Report that estimated 35,000 violent incidents in convenience stores in the last 12 months.

Key findings of the Commercial Victimisation Survey include:

ACS has today launched new guidance for delivery drivers on how to approach the delivery and refusal of age restricted products like alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes and lottery products.

The guidance, which has been designed as a quick reference guide for drivers to view on their mobile devices, details the steps that delivery drivers should go through to ensure that they are only delivering to customers that are 18 and over. This includes:

The Cross Party Group on Small Shops has met to raise awareness across the Senedd about the extent and impact of violence and abuse faced by shopworkers.

The meeting was chaired by Vikki Howells MS and attended by a number of MSs, independent retail trade associations, trade union USDAW and independent retailers.

During the meeting, ACS government relations director Edward Woodall presented the findings of ACS’ 2022 Crime Report and talked about the #ShopKind campaign.

ACS has set out its recommendations to the Chancellor ahead of the Spring Statement later this month, calling on the Government to support local shops with rising costs and the looming reintroduction of business rates bills.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to a joint consultation launched by the Treasury and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities about implementing changes to business rates confirmed at the Autumn Budget.

The consultation covers a number of areas, including: delivering three-yearly revaluations, reforming the appeals system in England, and introducing improvement relief and green investment incentives.

In the submission, ACS makes a number of recommendations:

The Association of Convenience Stores has today launched a comprehensive guide for retailers to help them untangle the complexity of upcoming regulations restricting high fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) products in stores.

The new Assured Advice guide on HFSS regulations, which are coming into force in October this year, covers everything retailers need to know on the key areas of the regulations, including:

ACS (the Association of the Convenience Stores) has welcomed the publication of the Government’s levelling up white paper, specifically the commitments to tackle crime in communities and boost connectivity in rural areas. 

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to provide more support for rural convenience stores as part of the levelling up agenda, highlighting the vital role that these businesses play to the economy and to their local communities.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has launched a new campaign to boost awareness of Challenge25 among consumers and support colleagues in local shops selling age restricted products.

Challenge25 is a long running successful policy created to support colleagues who are doing their job by enforcing the law on age restricted sales. The policy, which urges colleagues to check for proof of age for anyone that might look 25 or under, is most commonly used for alcohol purchases but also applies to all other age restricted products.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the publication of correspondence from the Treasury Committee which sheds further light on the increasing cost of card payments for businesses in the UK.