Today a new fund is being launched to tackle the critical issue of veg consumption which is contributing to 20,000 premature deaths every year in the UK. 

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has raised concerns about the impact of the non-duty paid alcohol and illicit tobacco trade on the convenience sector during an evidence session in Parliament, recommending more powers for trading standards officers to remove retailers selling non-duty paid alcohol and illicit tobacco from the market.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has launched the ACS National Living Wage Survey 2018 as part of its evidence gathering process for a submission to the Low Pay Commission.

The Low Pay Commission is consulting on what the rates for the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates should be from April 2019. The consultation will also consider the impact of a potential premium on top of existing wage rates to apply for working hours not guaranteed by an employment contract, following a recommendation from the Taylor Review into Modern Employment Practices.

From today (1st May 2018), all licensed premises in Scotland, including convenience stores, must comply with the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Act 2012. This means that retailers must not sell alcohol below 50p per unit. 

Retailers must identify which alcohol products they sell that are affected by the regulations and amend the price of the affected products. Not all alcohol products are affected by the introduction of Minimum Unit Pricing. To ensure that you’re fully compliant, you should calculate the Minimum Unit Price of alcohol products you sell. 

Sainsbury’s and Asda have agreed terms for a proposed merger, which is likely to be investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority.

The combined group of the UK’s second and third largest supermarkets would total 2,800 stores and would represent 31.4% of the UK grocery market.

Mike Coupe, Sainsbury’s chief executive said: "This is a transformational opportunity to create a new force in UK retail, which will be more competitive and give customers more of what they want now and in the future.

ACS’ Responsible Retailing Forum on 16th May aims to provide convenience retailers with latest policy developments as well as the tools and knowledge to ensure that their stores are trading legally and responsibly.

This year’s Forum will focus on environmental issues, tobacco track and trace, changing age restrictions and the latest alcohol policy update.

Speakers already confirmed include:

The Office for National Statistics has published its latest crime statistics for England and Wales showing that shop theft continues to increase year-on-year.

The statistical bulletin covers the year ending December 2017 which found that there has been a 8% increase in the number of shop thefts from the previous year, increasing to 385,265 incidents.

ACS welcomes the launch of the PASS scheme's new video promoting the value and use of PASS accredited Proof of Age Cards. The new video replaces the video that has been available for a number years and illustrates the virtues of Proof of Age Cards with the use of small cast of four people and a door supervisor, in a realistic scenario.

We’re asking for your help in completing our National Living Wage survey and I hope and expect we’ll get a strong response from retailers because it’s the biggest financial issue facing our sector.  How do we cope with our biggest cost rising by over 4% per year, above inflation and the growth rates in this (and pretty much any) sector?  We really need to hear from you about the impact on your business.

ACS has welcomed an inquiry launched by the Environmental Audit Committee which seeks evidence ahead of a one-off session examining hand car washes.

Mary Creagh MP, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee said: “Hand car washes are a familiar sight throughout the UK and often offer drivers a cheaper and more convenient alternative to automatic car washes, but they may be having a damaging environmental impact.

“Our inquiry will look at the environmental impact of hand car washes and ask how effective the regulations that govern them are.”