All ACS articles – Page 26
-
News
ACS calls for business rates reform
Convenience store retailers from across the UK gathered in Westminster to call on Government to reform the system of business rates. The Association of Convenience Stores has called for the following measures to make the business rates system fairer at their annual political conference: Legislating to introduce a permanent ...
-
News
ACS to vote on allowing major multiples to join
The Association of Convenience Stores, (ACS) is holding an EGM on 4 December at which it will ask members to vote on changes to its constitution to allow any convenience store operator to become a member of the Association. ACS chairman Jonathan James, a former winner of the Forecourt Trader ...
-
Analysis
James Lowman: ACS Chief executive
We have recently published the third edition of our annual look at the convenience sector, the Local Shop Report, which contains some great new insights into local shops, the people who run them and the communities they serve. The main story from the report is one of good news the ...
-
News
ACS gives evidence on minimum wage levels
ACS (the Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted evidence to the Low Pay Commission (LPC), calling on it to carefully assess the impact of the rate rise on small retailers. In its submission, ACS notes that according to a survey of retailers, increases in the national minimum wage (NMW) correlate ...
-
News
ACS urges politicians not to skew minimum wage
The ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) is calling for politicians not to undermine the decision making process of the Low Pay Commission after recent announcements on the minimum wage. At the Labour Party’s annual conference, Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged that the minimum wage would rise to £8.00 an hour ...
-
News
ACS welcomes proposals on miminim wage regulations
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed a proposal to consolidate minimum wage regulations as an important step in ensuring that retailers understand how the laws on the national minimum wage affect their business. In its submission to the Government consultation, ACS has highlighted the importance of clear, concise ...
-
News
ACS welcomes new HMRC crackdown on illicit trade
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed a new crackdown on the illicit trade in tobacco and alcohol announced by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We believe that any retailer who sells non-duty paid alcohol or tobacco should be subject to the full ...
-
News
ACS welcomes decision to end rollover contracts
ACS has welcomed an announcement from energy company Opus on plans to stop the use of rollover contracts. In an announcement posted on the company’s website, Opus stated that it will cease offering the automatic rollover contracts to all new customers as of October 2014. All existing customer contracts will ...
-
News
ACS welcomes report on energy cost concerns
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed evidence from Citizens Advice on small business energy contracts, and has renewed its call on Ofgem to ensure that all energy companies adhere to the same standards. The survey from Citizens Advice reports that 46% of small businesses are concerned about their ...
-
News
ACS attacks call to limit number of off licences
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has responded to the 2015 Manifesto published by the All Party Group on Alcohol Misuse. The Group, which is a forum for MPs and peers sympathetic to the policy objectives of alcohol health campaigners, has set out a 10-point list of measures they would ...
-
News
ACS attacks Asda claim over c-stores selling alcohol to minors
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has attacked Asda for suggesting that young people are obtaining alcohol from convenience stores. The supermarket giant has published results of third party test purchasing of alcohol at its stores and says they had a pass rate of 95.2%, which is higher than the ...
-
News
Town centre first policy not working says ACS
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has told an influential group of MPs that high streets continue to suffer from the unrelenting stream of out of town developments. In an evidence session on the operation of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), ACS chief executive James Lowman told the Communities ...
-
Analysis
James Lowman - chairman ACS
We’ve just released the results of an ambitious new project to find out what retailers, councillors and the general public think about the services on their high street. The report, called the Community Barometer, shows what people want in their local area and what they think government priorities should be ...
-
News
ACS chief hails new primary authority partnership
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman has heralded the benefits of ACS’s new primary authority partnership at a conference of business groups and local authorities. The ‘primary authority’ scheme, one of the first to be established in the country, is a new partnership between Surrey County Council and ...
-
News
ACS welcomes measures in Small Business Bill
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed the publication of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill. Published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Bill aims to remove barriers to growth for small firms, strengthen the foundations for a sustainable recovery, and create jobs. Measures ...
-
News
ACS calls for bag charge to include small businesses
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called on ministers to include small businesses in plans to charge 5p for single use carrier bags, after legislation on the issue was confirmed in today’s Queen’s Speech. ACS public affairs director Shane Brennan said: “Compulsory carrier bag charging is a policy that ...
-
News
ACS calls for planning curbs on out of town schemes
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has told MPs there is a need for stronger guidance and enforcement of planning rules to support high streets and curb the development of unsustainable out of town retail parks. The call came in its submission to the Communities and Local Government Select Committee ...
-
News
ACS welcomes Ofgem proposals on mis-selling
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed proposals from energy regulator Ofgem to stop the mis-selling of energy products by third party intermediaries to small businesses. In its submission to Ofgem’s consultation on the regulation of third party intermediaries (TPIs), ACS has welcomed plans to introduce a robust code ...
-
News
ACS launches underage sales guide
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has launched an ‘Assured Advice’ Guide to Preventing Underage Sales in England and Wales. It provides an easy to follow, product-by-product guide, establishing a simple, common approach to adopting the right company policy, training and effective record keeping. The Guide is the second part ...
-
News
ACS alarm over alcohol licence fee plans
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called for an urgent rethink of proposals which would allow councils to set their own fees in its response to the Government’s consultation on locally set alcohol licence fees. All the options for changing licence fees set out in the consultation would lead ...