Press Releases

The Low Pay Commission have published their assessment of the impact of the National Living Wage on businesses over the last year, noting that smaller businesses have been more heavily affected than their larger counterparts.

The report shows that both the number of people and the number of hours worked have fallen over the last year in the smallest businesses. Regionally, overall employment has also fallen over the last year in the North East, North West, the East of England and Scotland.

Trade associations representing convenience stores across England, Wales and Scotland have reiterated their position on plans for a bottle return scheme, outlining the problems that the scheme would cause for retailers.

The Association of Convenience Stores and the Scottish Grocers Federation have written to the Scottish government, highlighting the following concerns about deposit return schemes (DRS):

Figures released today from the Association of Convenience Stores’ Crime Report 2017 have revealed the costs, both human and monetary, of crimes committed against convenience store staff and owners, including shop theft, burglary, robbery and violence. The report highlights the significance of shop theft, with more than half of the total cost of crime accounted for by theft from customers. Key findings from the report include:

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has called on the Government to clarify its position on business rates appeals in response to the publication on a consultation response on business rate reforms.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has briefed peers ahead of a debate in the House of Lords on a new Bill which would require local authorities to consult with community stakeholders before putting up parking charges in their area.

A group of organisations representing over 100,000 businesses has written to all MPs expressing concern about the impact that changes to business rates will have on their members in April.

The letter highlights the issues that thousands of businesses are facing as a result of the revaluation, with many due to receive significant increases in their rates bills.

The group is calling for action in the following areas:

ACS has given evidence to the House of Lords Finance Bill sub-committee on the Making Tax Digital proposals, urging the Government to extend the timeframes for transferring business tax accounting onto digital platforms.

The proposals, originally published through six consultation documents in August 2016, aim to introduce a fully digital tax system with the intention of reducing errors in tax reporting.

The Home Office, fuel retailers and police have come together to tackle the £36 million annual cost of fuel theft on the UK’s petrol forecourts.

The impact that fuel theft is having on the sector has sparked industry groups, including the Association of Convenience Stores, the Petrol Retailers Association and the Downstream Fuel Association into action to develop new guidance to support fuel retailers in training their staff to prevent drive offs and report incidents to the police using a new standard reporting form.

The Association of Convenience Stores has called on the government to help secure the future of the UK's 19,128 rural shops, allowing them to continue to provide essential services like the Post Office for customers that would otherwise be isolated.

The report reveals that rural shops are often the only place where customers in their local area can get essential goods and services. More than half of rural stores (59%) operate entirely on their own, with no other retail/service businesses close by.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has welcomed a report from the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee which calls on the Government to delay the implementation of mandatory digital tax reporting.

In the report, the Committee states that the initially proposed timetable of April 2018 for most businesses to be reporting tax digitally is over-ambitious, and could result in unnecessary costs and administrative burdens for businesses.

Other recommendations in the report include: