November 2014

Nov 06

ACS Supports the Launch of Small Business Saturday UK in Wales

Today (6th November), ACS took part in the Small Business Saturday UK Launch Event in Wales. Small Business Saturday is a day to celebrate all of the fantastic small businesses in the UK and encourages communities to support them in the run up to Christmas and in future.

The event was held in the National Assembly for Wales, with Janet Finch-Saunders AM, chair of the Cross Party Group on Small Shops; Shane Brennan, ACS Public Affairs Director; and Michelle Oven, National Campaign Director at Small Business Saturday UK speaking to a room full of small business owners.

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Nov 06

Local Shops Welcome Small Business Lending Investigation

Local shops have welcomed the announcement from the Competition Markets Authority to conduct a full market investigation into lending to the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) market.  The investigation will look specifically at lending to SMEs and core products such as business current accounts.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “We welcome the CMA decision to investigate SME lending. Access to finance and fair bank charges are key to ensuring that local shops can grow and create more jobs in their communities.

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Nov 03

ACS Responds to BIS Consultation on Zero-Hour Contracts

ACS has responded to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) consultation on how to prevent avoidance of the exclusivity clause ban in zero-hours contracts.

The government’s Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill recently introduced a provision to ban the use of exclusivity clauses. An exclusivity clause in a zero hours contract is when the employer prevents the individual from working for someone else, even though they themselves do not guarantee any hours of work.

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