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The shortlist for the Great British High Street Awards, run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in partnership with Visa and other partners, has been announced.

The Great British High Street Awards celebrate the UK’s best and most ambitious high streets, with winners receiving up to £15,000 in prize money.

Voting for the Champion High Street award and the Rising Star High Street award has now opened.

New research published today by the Association of Convenience Stores has found that UK consumers are crying out for more specialist food shops and banks in their local area.

The ACS Community Barometer looks at which services the public want (and don’t want) around them, as well as how essential those services are, the impact they have on reducing loneliness, and whether those services overall have a positive impact on where they live.

ACS has urged the Government to extend the plastic bag charge to small retailers as soon as possible after DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) published figures which show that sales of plastic bags by the seven biggest retailers in England have fallen by 90% since the 5p charge was introduced in 2015. The figures also reveal that 5p plastic bag sales have contributed around £169 million toward charities and other good causes since the charge was introduced on 5 October 2015.

ACS has written to new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, urging him to take immediate action to support the convenience sector.  The letter outlines four recommendations, none requiring additional legislation, demonstrating the PM’s commitment to helping local shops.

The recommendations are:

ACS has urged the Government to ensure that it fully considers the long term costs and implications of a deposit return scheme after the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs committed to further consultation on the issue.

This morning (Tuesday), DEFRA published its summary of the consultation responses and committed to introducing a deposit return scheme in England and Wales no later than 2023, with further consultation due in 2020. In total, DEFRA received 1,180 responses to the initial consultation.