Press Releases

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has reiterated its calls on the House of Lords Licensing Act Committee to retain the current licensing objectives instead of imposing new restrictions on responsible retailers.

The Committee is currently hearing evidence on the impact that the current licensing laws have on public health.

In a written submission to the Committee earlier this year, ACS outlined a number of ways in which the Licensing Act could be improved for licensees, including:

In response to the publication of the latest HMRC Tax Gaps report, ACS has reiterated its call for tougher sanctions for retailers selling illicit alcohol and tobacco products, including the revocation of their alcohol licence.

The report reveals that the alcohol tax gap has risen from £1.3 billion in 2013-14 to £1.8 billion in 2014-15.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to focus on tackling obesity through a partnership approach with retailers and suppliers, rather than instead of imposing a levy on soft drinks.  ACS has responded to the government’s consultation on the introduction of the levy.

The Government’s proposals would see soft drinks with a sugar content of 8g per 100ml or more taxed at 24p per litre, while drinks with 5g to 8g of sugar per 100ml will be taxed at a lower rate of 18p per litre. The plans will exclude pure fruit juices and milk-based drinks.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on convenience retailers to ensure that they are making their voice heard with local decision makers. The call to action came at the Association’s annual Heart of the Community Conference, held in Westminster today (Tuesday 11 October).

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to do more to reform the business rates system in a submission to the Treasury ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on November 23^rd.

The ACS Investment Tracker has revealed a mixed picture of investment in Britain’s local shops.  Convenience stores across the UK have invested a record £210m in store improvements in the past three months, driven by multiple convenience retailers spending  around £9,500 per store.  However, investment levels among independent retailers have fallen to their lowest level since the survey began in 2012.

ACS has reiterated its calls to Government to remove the exemption for small businesses on single use carrier bags in England.

Under the current regulations, small businesses with fewer than 250 employees are exempt from the carrier bag charging regulations, meaning that they do not have to charge 5p for single use bags. However, many stores have introduced a charge voluntarily to raise money for local causes. These rules only apply in England, as in Scotland and Wales the bag charge applies to all businesses regardless of size.

The Government has published headline figures on the results of the revaluation of business rates, announcing that rateable values in the retail sector are set to increase by an average of 4.7% across the UK, although this is heavily influenced by a 26.2% increase in rateable values in London, with most regions in England and Wales seeing a decrease in their rateable values.

There is also due to be a reduction of 1.7p in both the small business and standard rates multiplier, which will lead to net decreases in most retailers’ business rates bills.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that small businesses do not lose out as a result of plans to allow local authorities to keep 100% of their business rates income.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has confirmed the appointment of Patrick Sewell and Debbie Robinson as chair and deputy chair respectively.

Patrick will take on the chairmanship of ACS from 1 November 2016, having served as deputy chair since 2014. Patrick will replace Palmer and Harvey Group Strategy and Development Director Paul Hagon as chair, who remains on the ACS board.