News

ACS has welcomed the launch of a new inquiry into business rates, calling on the Treasury to look closely into how rates affect essential services like petrol forecourts and free to use cash machines. 

The Treasury Select Committee has launched the inquiry into business rates to scrutinise how Government policy has impacted business. The Committee will examine how Business Rates policy has changed, including Business Rates retention, alternatives to property-based taxes, such as the proposed digital services tax, and how changes to Business Rates could impact businesses.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to figures obtained by the Press Association (PA) about the incidents of shop theft in the UK. According to the figures, Police from forces in England and Wales investigated 78,110 incidents of shop theft in UK supermarkets 2017, an almost 8% increase from 72,423 in 2014.

Following forecasts of heavy snow this week in parts of the UK, ACS is advising retailers to follow the Department for Transport’s Snow Code when moving snow and ice outside their stores. Under Health and Safety law, businesses are required (so far as is reasonably practicable) to keep routes into the store free from anything that may cause a person to slip, trip or fall.

ACS has called on HMRC to publish details of the application process for tobacco track and trace codes as soon as possible, or else risk a backlog of applications and uncertainty about the supply of tobacco to retailers.

HMRC has this morning (30^th January) published limited details of what retailers will need to do to comply with the regulations once they come into force on 20^th May 2019, but have not included anything on how or when retailers can apply for the two codes necessary to be able to purchase tobacco.

The Office for National Statistics recently published new figures on different types of crime in England and Wales, including a range of offences that sometimes have as their victims convenience store retailers and their staff. The figure that got the most attention (in our sector at least) was the small decline in reported shop theft. It’s well worth exploring this statistic and looking at what it actually tells us.

ACS has announced the shortlist of companies to present at the 2019 Technology Showcase, taking place on 5th February in Manchester.

The Technology Showcase will bring together retailers and suppliers to hear first-hand the impact technology has on the convenience sector and the work that ACS is doing to help in this key area.

The following companies have been shortlisted to demonstrate their product or service at the event:

Tickets are now available for Summit19, the definitive convenience event of the year.

Summit19 is an unmissable conference, bringing together leading figures in the convenience sector with industry experts from around the world to take part in a discussion about the opportunities for retailers and suppliers in convenience, both now and in the future. This year’s conference will address two critical questions facing the sector, in two business sessions:

ACS has welcomed calls from the Local Government Association to impose tougher sanctions on those caught selling illicit tobacco.  

The LGA, which represents councils in England and Wales, has called for bigger fines to be imposed on those who sell illicit tobacco products, raising concerns that cheap, illegal tobacco is especially dangerous not just due to the toxins that could be present, but that they don't extinguish themselves - presenting a significant fire risk. 

The Payment Systems Regulator has today (January 24^th) confirmed the terms of reference for its Market Review into card payments, investigating whether retailers are being fairly treated by acquirers and payment facilitators such as WorldPay and Barclaycard.

In the Terms of Reference, the PSR cites concerns raised by stakeholders, including ACS, about the market not being fair. These include:

ACS has responded to the publication of the Office for National Statistics annual Crime Survey for England and Wales, urging retailers to report incidents of shop theft when they occur.

According to the ONS survey, which covers the whole of retail, the number of police recorded shop theft incidents for the year ending September 2018 decreased by 1% to 378,656 offences.