News

The Scottish Government has published its response to the consultation on details surrounding the introduction of a ban on disposable vaping products, set to come into force in April 2025.

The response provides additional clarity on their views on the definition of a disposable vape, as well as more information about the way that the rules will be enforced. The Scottish Government acknowledges that enforcement was the biggest concern raised by those who submitted evidence to the consultation.

The Green Party have launched their 2024 General Election manifesto, calling for a four-day working week and a £15 minimum wage. 

The manifesto, launched today, sets out a range of policies aimed at benefitting the environment and accelerating the transition to a net zero economy. 

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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has launched the Conservatives’ 2024 General Election Manifesto, pledging to cut taxes and reintroduce previous legislation if they were to form the next Government.

This week we’ve heard about Labour’s plans to ban energy drinks for under-16s. This got me feeling all nostalgic because we discussed this a lot around the time Theresa May’s government announced this policy a few years back... but then never implemented it. Governments in Scotland and Wales have similarly announced an intention to ban sales of energy drinks but also not implemented it. Maybe a Labour government would actually do this, and if so what would that mean for local shops?

Labour have announced that they would ban the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to under 16s if they were to form the next Government.

Ahead of the launch of their full manifesto later this week, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to children was ‘not justifiable or acceptable’.

Under the proposals, any energy drink containing more than 150mg of caffeine per litre would not be available to anyone under the age of 16. The policy is expected to be enforced by Trading Standards.

The Liberal Democrats have published their manifesto ahead of the 2024 General Election, pledging to make sweeping changes to employment regulations and rights as part of their campaign to form the next Government.

We will hear a lot about crime in this election campaign. This week I gave a keynote address at an event on shop theft and retail crime, attended by the police, some parliamentary candidates and lots of retailers. My main reflection that I want to feed into the rest of the election campaign is that there are two types of conversation that happen when we talk about crime - we need to decide which one we want to centre in this campaign.

New evidence from ACS’ Employment Survey and ACS’ Colleague Survey shows the convenience sector continues to deliver secure and flexible employment to 437,000 colleagues across the country.  

98% of colleagues working in the convenience sector are on permanent contracts and as a result 83% of colleagues feel secure in their current role. The majority of colleagues are also drawn from the local community with 47% walking to work with an average commute time of just 13 minutes per day.

We’re hearing lots of talk in this election campaign about high streets, and that’s really good news. I could dwell on a technical point here: most convenience stores trade away from major centres and in our heartland of housing estates and villages, in fact the places close to where most of the electorate live and where they want to see government support directed.