Press Releases

The Cross Party Group on Small Shops has released the findings of its Supporting Entrepreneurship Inquiry, recommending new ways that the Welsh Government and local authorities can help entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow, including an ‘Entrepreneurs Test’ to ensure that new regulations do not have unforeseen negative impacts and reform of the business rates system to incentivise investment and not restrict business growth.

ACS has responded to the publication of the Scottish Government’s Diet & Healthy Weight Delivery Plan, ‘A Healthier Future’, calling on the Scottish Government to consider the impact of their proposals on small shops.

The new plan aims to halve the rates of childhood obesity by 2030 by including actions to ensure that the food environment supports healthier choices.

Measures announced for consultation later this year in the Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is supporting a new campaign set to pilot new ways to improve recycling rates of food and drink packaging on-the-go.

#LeedsByExample is a campaign launched by environmental behaviour change charity Hubbub and recycling compliance scheme Ecosurety. The campaign aims to improve recycling rates through a unique partnership of large businesses, new ground-breaking technology and engaging communications activities.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has condemned LINK’s decision to reduce interchange fees for cash machine operators, raising concerns that cash machines in rural and isolated communities could be lost as a result of the changes. 

LINK confirmed in January this year that over the next four years, they plan to reduce the interchange fee (the fee paid by banks to cash machine operators) from 25p to 20p. The first of these reductions will come into effect this Sunday (July 1st). 

The Scottish Government have today (Wednesday) published a consultation on what the format and structure of a Deposit Return Scheme should look like in Scotland.

The Scottish Government committed to introduce a Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland in their programme for Government 2017-18 and have been working with Zero Waste Scotland on the development of the consultation

An Early Day Motion tabled by All Party Parliamentary Small Shops Group chair Ruth George MP on the importance of dealing with shop theft has received cross party support from MPs.

Early Day Motion 1415 has received signatures from members of the Labour Party, Conservative Party, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrats and the DUP.

The Early Day Motion states:

ACS has responded to the publication of the Department of Health and Social Care’s new Childhood Obesity Strategy, calling on the Government to ensure that any new regulations are evidence based and do not unfairly target small retailers over their larger counterparts.

The new Strategy, following on from measures first announced in August 2016, aims to halve the rates of childhood obesity by 2030 and reduce the gap between the health of children in the least and most wealthy families.

Measures announced for consultation in the new Childhood Obesity Strategy include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to an inquiry led by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on the future of UK high streets and town centres, calling on the Committee to look at ways to reduce the burden of business rates on retailers trading on high streets.

In the submission, ACS has called for a series of measures to ensure the sustainability of high streets and the ability of retailers trading on high streets to invest. Recommendations made in the submission include:

ACS has responded to the publication of a new report from consumer group Which? that warns of 60 bank branches closing every month, highlighting the role of convenience stores in continuing to provide banking services for local customers.

The report found that 2,868 branches will have closed between 2015 and the end of 2018, with Scotland, the South East and the North West seeing the most closures per region.

ACS has responded to the publication of HM Revenue and Customs’ report on the prevalence of non-duty paid alcohol and illicit tobacco in the UK, reiterating calls for targeted action at a local level to reduce the impact of the illicit trade on responsible retailers.

According to HM Revenue and Customs, the tobacco tax gap driven by the illicit market in cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco is estimated to be £2.5 billion in 2016-17. Of this, £1.9 billion was lost in tobacco duties and a further £0.5 billion in VAT.