Press Releases

ACS has welcomed the creation of a new group chaired by the Treasury which has been set up to safeguard consumers’ access to cash.

In addition to the new Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group, which will bring together regulators, the Treasury and the Bank of England, the Government has committed to the following as part of its response to a call for evidence on cash and the digital economy:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has launched an online template to help retailers respond to the Home Office’s call for evidence on violence and abuse against shop staff.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to new figures published by Which? on the amount of cash machines being converted to charge fees, calling for urgent action to secure consumers’ access to cash.

Figures obtained by Which? show that fees of at least 95p per withdrawal have been imposed on 1,700 machines between January and March this year. Which? report that around three quarters of these fees have been introduced in March alone.

ACS has welcomed the publication of a new report from the Lords Rural Economy Select Committee which calls for more action to be taken to support rural shops.

The House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy’s Report raises a number of concerns about the way that rural shops and other businesses are disproportionately negatively affected when it comes to policy and provision of services. Recommendations to the Government made in the report include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to new figures from the Office for National Statistics’ annual Crime Survey for England and Wales, reiterating calls on retailers to report incidents of shop theft when they occur.

According to the ONS survey, which covers the whole of retail, the number of police recorded shop theft incidents for the year ending December 2018 decreased by 3% to 374,895 offences.

With less than six weeks to go until the introduction of Making Tax Digital rules, only one in four convenience store retailers know what they need to do comply with the changes.

From 1^st April 2019, all businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) must keep their VAT records digitally and use Making Tax Digital (MTD) compatible software to submit their VAT returns.

ACS has launched new guidance for retailers to help them comply with upcoming tobacco track and trace regulations.

From today (23^rd April), retailers with multiple sites will be able to apply for the codes that they need to be able to purchase compliant tobacco after the regulations come into force next month.  

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has announced a new partnership with the University of Surrey’s Department of Marketing and Retail Management to offer the first ever Diploma in Convenience Retailing. 

The programme is aimed at anyone looking to develop their expertise in convenience retailing, whether it be area managers in retail and wholesale, sales specialists in FMCG companies, rising stars in independent retail or consultants with a keen interest in the sector. 

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Government’s consultation on restricting high fat, salt, sugar (HFSS) products, urging the Government to exempt small stores from the regulations and narrow the types of products that would fall in scope of the proposed restrictions.

The Department of Health and Social Care are currently consulting on how the government can reduce children’s exposure to advertising for products that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS), to reduce their consumption of these products. Measures proposed in the consultation include:

The Government has launched a call for evidence to tackle violence and abuse against shop staff.

The call is open for 12 weeks and asks organisations and individuals to contribute to the Government’s understanding of the problem.

The most recent Home Office Commercial Victimisation Survey estimated that in 2017, workers from the wholesale and retail sector fell victim to around 510,000 incidents of assaults and threats, more than twice the number recorded in 2016.