Bottle deposit return schemes would impose significant time and cost burdens on convenience store retailers and their staff, according to evidence presented by ACS at the Labour Party Conference this week.
At a fringe event hosted by the British Soft Drinks Association on Monday evening, ACS detailed the issues that would be faced by retailers if they were forced to be part of a bottle deposit return scheme.
It is now just a few weeks until Heart of the Community 2017, ACS’ headline political conference of the year in London on October 17th.
In addition to hearing from High Streets Minister Jake Berry MP and senior business leaders during the event, the conference will feature an interactive Local Engagement session which aims to facilitate discussion between local stakeholders and retailers about how they can work better together.
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to implement a series of measures on business rates, employment costs and duty rates to help local shops and other small businesses.
In its submission ahead of the Chancellor’s first Autumn Budget on 22nd November, ACS has reiterated its calls for an overhaul of the business rates system, with urgent attention required to allow businesses to appeal their rates.
The submission calls for:
ACS is supporting a campaign from Coeliac UK to raise awareness around gluten free customers and what businesses can do to keep them safe.
Coeliac UK estimate British food businesses are missing out on £100m of gluten free business, and that 90% of people on a gluten free diet ate out in the last month. According to Mintel, the UK gluten free market was estimated to be £247 million in 2015.
Heart of the Community 2017 is just a few weeks away, where High Streets Minister Jake Berry MP will address retailers on the Government's plans to help high streets and small businesses.
Jake Berry was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Communities and Local Government on 14th June after retaining his Rossendale and Darwen seat in the 2017 General Election. His responsibilities include local growth policies, Local Enterprise Partnerships, community rights and high streets.
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores)has raised concerns about the complexity of proposals to track the progress of legitimate tobacco products through the supply chain.
New draft regulations from the EU Commission would require UK retailers and wholesalers to register and pay to receive unique ‘identifier codes’ in order to sell tobacco products.
ACS has welcomed Local Government Minister Marcus Jones’ intervention to speed up the process of rebilling businesses that are waiting for rate relief.
In a Commons statement, he said: “The Government has been consistently clear that it expects local authorities to make rapid progress in helping business by implementing these relief schemes.
The Environmental Audit Committee has relaunched its inquiry into disposable coffee cups and plastic bottles, looking at ways to reduce the level of waste created by those products.
ACS has reiterated its concerns about a possible deposit return scheme for bottles and cans, outlining the problems that a scheme would cause for retailers and urging the Government to focus on effective measures to increase recycling rates.
Britain’s new £10 polymer note has entered circulation today. Over one billion of the notes have now been printed and issued, meaning we will begin to see them in our wallets and tills over the next few weeks.
The polymer note features raised dots in the top left corner, which have been included to help blind and partially sighted users to identify the value of the note.
ACS has welcomed comments from the Earl of Lytton in a House of Lords debate on the government’s Check, Challenge, Appeal system for business rates appeals.
During the debate, the Earl raised concerns about the processes that businesses had to go through just to access the check, challenge, appeal system, suggesting that they were ‘excessive and intrusive’.
