ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed the Mayor of London’s new Food Strategy which sets out the Mayor’s plans to ensure all Londoners have access to healthy and sustainable food.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed an announcement from the Welsh Government, which has confirmed an extension to the high street rates relief scheme for 2019-20.

Eligible businesses will receive up to £2,500 off their business rates bills, with properties with a rateable value up to £9,100 paying no rates at all. The Welsh Government estimates that 15,000 retailers in Wales with a rateable value of up to £50,000 will benefit from the scheme.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has published the findings of its inquiry into the sale of energy drinks, concluding that there is insufficient evidence for a blanket age restriction on the products.

In a letter to the Treasury, ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) is calling for the implementation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT to be delayed until 2020, following a report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub Committee .

MTD is changing the way retailers submit their VAT return from April 2019, requiring them to keep their VAT records digitally and use software to submit returns. The policy reforms aim to reduce the tax gap and help businesses have a more accurate overview of their tax affairs.

The Low Pay Commission has published a report outlining their recommendations for the April 2019 National Living Wage (NLW) and National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates. The report evaluates the impact of the NLW so far and found that as many as 5 million people benefited from the increase in April 2018.

ACS has welcomed a report from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee, which urges HMRC to delay the mandatory introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT from April 2019 until at least 2020.

MTD is changing the way retailers submit their VAT returns, requiring them to keep their VAT records digitally and use software to submit returns. The policy reforms aim to reduce the tax gap and help businesses have a more accurate overview of their tax affairs.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Department of Health and Social Care’s consultation which proposed to introduce a legal age restriction for energy drinks.  

In the submission, ACS set out that if the government decides to introduce a legal age restriction for energy drinks that they will work with the government to promote compliance in the convenience sector through its Assured Advice scheme, which is approved by Surrey and Buckinghamshire Trading Standards.

The winners of the 2018 Great British High Street Awards (GBHS) have been announced. The awards, run by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government and sponsored by Visa, recognise and celebrate the local achievements of the nation’s high streets.

The independent judging panel selected the shortlisted finalists for the Champion and Rising Star awards. These 38 shortlisted finalists were visited by GBHS judges to assess who would be crowned the winners of the 2018 Awards and the public given the chance to vote for their favourite high street.

ACS has welcomed the Environmental Audit Committee’s report into hand car washes, which recommends the government takes further action to tackle illegal hand car wash operators.

The report recommended: “To make enforcement easier, the Government should trial a licensing scheme for hand car washes that brings together all of the major compliance requirements, including on environmental pollution, into a single, more easily enforceable, legal requirement.”

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted evidence to the Access to Cash Review, which is seeking views on the cash access requirements for consumers and businesses over the next five to fifteen years.

In the submission, ACS calls for retention of the ATM network to meet the demand for cash as a form of payment. The majority of convenience stores trade in locations where they are one of a limited number of shops and services, often providing the only source of cash access for consumers.