Press Releases

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Low Pay Commission’s consultation on the future rates of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, calling on the Commission to take into consideration the impact of wage hikes on local shops.

In the submission, ACS raises concerns about the target that the Low Pay Commission was set by the former Chancellor George Osborne of raising the National Living Wage to 60% of median earnings by 2020, calling for the Commission to have its independence in considering future wage rates reinstated.

ACS has produced comprehensive new guidance for retailers on the upcoming changes to tobacco retailing coming into force as part of the revised EU Tobacco Products Directive and Standardised Packaging legislation.

From this Friday (20^th May 2016), manufacturers will only be able to produce tobacco in standardised packaging and in a minimum pack size of 20, with restrictions also being put in place for roll your own tobacco. Retailers have a sell-through period of one year in which to ensure that all of their stock is compliant with the new regulations.

The Government has set out its legislative agenda for the upcoming parliament, confirming the introduction of proposals announced by the Chancellor and Prime Minister over the last year including the local retention of business rates and a new levy on soft drinks.

ACS has called on the Government to go further in their Red Tape Review to ensure that local authorities are consistent in their approach to enforcement, as well as removing the costly and unnecessary burdens experienced by licensed retailers.

In the submission, ACS welcomes the Government’s intention to remove £10 billion worth of regulation over the course of this Parliament but has highlighted that the local enforcement and interpretation of regulations cause significant problems for retailers in addition to the regulations themselves.

Figures released today (April 28^th) as part of the Home Office’s Commercial Victimisation Survey have found that one in five premises in the retail and wholesale sector were victims of shop theft over the last year, with the sector having the highest crime rate of any sector surveyed.

The survey states that wholesale and retail premises experienced 4.7m crimes in 2015, with almost three quarters of those crimes (72%) being attributed to theft by customers.

ACS chief executive James Lowman has called on the convenience sector to engage with local decision makers to establish their community credentials and make sure the economic role of local shops is understood. In his introductory remarks at Summit'16, Mr Lowman predicted that local public health interventions on alcohol, tobacco and sugar would become more common in the coming years, and was a big strategic threat for retailers to face up to.

ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has responded to the Public Bill Committee’s call for evidence on the Policing and Crime Bill, raising concerns that a provision to no longer require alcohol licensing guidance to be scrutinised by Parliament could mean significant changes could be made to the guidance without any accountability.

The National Living Wage will come into force today (1^st April) for all employees aged 25 and over. The new rate of pay for these workers will be £7.20 per hour.

The Chancellor announced the National Living Wage as part of his 2015 Budget without consultation with the Low Pay Commission, and has signalled his intention for the rate to reach at least £9 per hour by 2020.

The 2016 ACS Crime Report has revealed that crime against local shops is costing an estimated £122m, or £2,370 per store. On top of this, the average store is investing £1,379 in crime prevention. The total costs of crime and crime prevention equate to the cost of employing over 12,000 additional full time staff in stores.

ACS has welcomed the Chancellor's announcement that the small business rate relief threshold will be raised to £15,000 rateable value from £6,000.

In the Budget, the Chancellor also announced that from 2020, future business rates increases will be based on CPI rather than RPI, which should lead to less steep increases in rates bills for retailers.