The Association of Convenience Stores has urged Environment Secretary Michael Gove MP to re-think his support for an “all-in” deposit return scheme in England and Wales. Speaking at Kew Gardens in London today, Mr Gove outlined his support for an approach that could require retailers to take back plastic, glass, metal, HDPE bottles and other containers as part of the proposed deposit return scheme, with no limits on the size of the container that can be returned.
The Government has responded to the House of Lords Rural Economy Committee’s final report about how Government policy could strengthen rural businesses and communities.
The 2019 ACS Rural Shop Report reveals that rural convenience stores provide flexible jobs for almost 140,000 people, have invested over £271m in improving their businesses, and continue to provide a wide range of services despite slow broadband speeds and unreliable mobile connectivity.
The Low Pay Commission has visited an East of England Co-op store in Gorleston as part of its Visits Programme in Great Yarmouth. ACS supports retailers to take part in the Low Pay Commission Visits Programme to provide first hand evidence about the impact of the National Living Wage and employment costs.
New figures from the Association of Convenience Stores have revealed that fewer than one in ten retailers are planning to invest in their business in the future, a record low.
When asked about their business plans in the quarterly Voice of Local Shops Survey, only 9% of independent retailers said they planned to invest in their stores over the coming year. This is the lowest level seen since the survey began in 2012 and a decline from 16% last May.
The Government has received approval from the Supreme Court to appeal a £300 million court dispute over business rate bills for cash machines outside shops.
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is set to challenge a ruling from the Court of Appeal which confirmed that through the wall ATMs should not be subject to a separate business rates assessment.
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) welcomes launch of the Great British High Street (GBHS) Awards 2019. The Government-run awards, in partnership with Visa, celebrate the nation’s leading high streets and recognise local achievements.
Entries for the GBHS Awards 2019 opened today (23rd May) and a selection of 40 shortlisted finalists will be chosen by an independent judging panel and are eligible to win up to £15,000 for their local community.
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) welcomes launch of the Great British High Street (GBHS) Awards 2019. The Government-run awards, in partnership with Visa, celebrate the nation’s leading high streets and recognise local achievements.
Entries for the GBHS Awards 2019 opened today (23rd May) and a selection of 40 shortlisted finalists will be chosen by an independent judging panel and are eligible to win up to £15,000 for their local community.
ACS has given evidence to the business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee outlining the challenges to the future of the Post Office Network and the convenience retailers that host them.
In a one-off evidence session of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee’s inquiry into the Post Office network, ACS urged the committee to consider the impact of increasing wage costs and changing consumer shopping habits.
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to a three crucially important proposals from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on: introducing a deposit return scheme (DRS) for drinks containers, reforming the UK producer responsibility system and introducing a plastic packaging tax.
The consultations were launched following their commitment to consult in their Resources and Waste Strategy which was published last year.
The Scottish Government has announced today (8th May) details of their plans for a deposit return scheme (DRS) in Scotland.
Based on the plans announced, the scheme would have a significant impact on small shops, with the Scottish Government mandating manual handling of returned packaging at small stores and ruling out an exemption for shops smaller than 280 sq m. This is despite committing in their Programme for Government in 2017 to address specific difficulties that small retailers will have under as part of the design of a deposit return scheme.
