All ACS articles – Page 27
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News
ACS welcomes sentencing consultation
The Sentencing Council’s Consultation on sentencing for Shop Theft offences and the retention of short custodial sentences has been welcomed by the Association of Convenience Stores. ACS chief executive James Lowman, said: “Shop theft is one of the biggest operational challenges local shops face, with 70% of retailers having ...
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News
ACS calls for urgent review into implications of plain packaging regulations
The Association of Convenience Stores is calling on the Government to undertake an urgent full assessment of the wider impact of standardised packaging on businesses, following the statement by Public Health Minister, Jane Ellison, that they are publishing regulations to introduce plain packaging in the UK. ACS has already written ...
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News
ACS backs inquiry call
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed a proposed investigation into the energy market, calling for action to make the market fairer and more competitive for local shops. The announcement made on Thursday March 27 by energy regulator Ofgem is to recommend an investigation of the market by the ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: ACS chief executive
We have had a run of major announcements affecting retail from George Osborne in his Budgets and Autumn Financial Statements, so by his standards the latest one was a low key affair. The compelling statistics were there: the economy is back in growth (2.4%) and the number of people unemployed ...
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News
ACS backs call for energy market investigation
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed a proposed investigation into the energy market, calling for action to make the market fairer and more competitive for local shops. The announcement made by the energy regulator Ofgem on Thursday 27 March recommended an investigation of the market by the Competition ...
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News
ACS welcomes decision to retain personal alcohol licences
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has welcomed the Home Office’s decision not to abolish personal alcohol licences. In its response to the consultation, the Home Office noted that it has “listened to the views received in response to the consultation, and in discussion with partners has decided not to ...
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News
ACS index reveals optimism among independent c-store retailers
Independent retailers are positive about their prospects on 2014, with the latest ACS Optimism Index showing its third consecutive quarter of improvement. However, the Index is part of a mixed set of results from the ACS Voice of Local Shops survey, conducted with over a thousand retailers in February 2014. ...
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News
ACS criticises minimum wage recommendation
Convenience stores’ representatives have expressed concerns over the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation for a 3% increase in the National Minimum Wage. Addressing a committee of MPs, business secretary Vince Cable said the Low Pay Commission had recommended a 3% increase in the minimum wage, which would take the adult rate ...
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News
ACS publishes report on crime
Theft cost convenience stores £44m and has risen by 4% in the last year, according to a new report by the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS). The Crime Report 2014 sets out the impact of crime on the convenience sector and includes guidance to help retailers manage the cost of ...
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News
ACS calls for stronger action over energy contracts
The Association of Convenience Store (ACS) has responded to the publication of two consultations from the energy watchdog Ofgem, calling for more to be done to tackle problems faced by retailers when dealing with energy companies. Ofgem has published consultations on the issues of Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs) and rollover ...
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News
ACS warns over level of crime
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has urged ministers not to be complacent about the level of crime facing retailers, after the government’s latest survey showed a significant fall in the level of crime. The Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) reports that overall crime levels fell by 10% ...
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News
ACS calls on Ofgem to limit backbills
The Association of Convenience Stores has written to the energy regulator Ofgem, calling for all energy suppliers to limit backbills to 12 months. In December, Ofgem published the results of an investigation into backbilling cases between 2012 and 2013, revealing that over the course of 12 months there had been ...
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Analysis
James Lowman: chairman ACS
There is a growing consensus that radical change to the business rates system is required. We have been arguing for a long time that if the government wants to see businesses investing and creating jobs, then it has to take clear steps to reduce the costs that stand in its ...
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News
ACS calls for stronger sentencing for crime in shops
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called for out of court penalties to be restricted to first time thieves as part of its response to the Ministry of Justice’s review of out of court penalties. In its submission to the review, ACS highlighted that while out of court penalties ...
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News
ACS chief warns on minimum wage rise proposal
The ACS chief executive James Lowman has warned that a suggested rise of 50p in the national minimum wage could cause serious damage to the convenience store sector. Responding an article in The Times he said: “The article suggests that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister are convinced that a ...
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News
ACS welcomes new Victims Code
A statutory code has come into power this week which recognises businesses as victims of crime, and has provisions for ‘business impact statements’ to allow retailers to report the wider implications of crime on their stores. Justice minister Chris Grayling said: “Victims deserve the best possible support to cope and ...
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News
Cost pressure is rising says ACS
Damaging retail cost increases were the focus of the annual Heart of the Community Conference organised by the Association of Convenience Stores, attended by more than 150 forecourt and convenience retailers.The event encourages retailer engagement with MPs and featured Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Michael Fallon, and Shadow ...
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NewsRising costs threaten convenience retail business, says ACS
Damaging retail cost increases were the focus of yesterday’s annual Heart of the Community Conference organised by the Association of Convenience Stores, attended by more than 150 forecourt and convenience retailers. The event encourages retailer engagement with MPs and featured Minister of State for Business and Enterprise Michael Fallon, and ...
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News
ACS advice for Chancellor ahead of Autumn Statement
The Association of Convenience Stores has set out a series of recommendations to Chancellor George Osborne ahead of the Autumn Statement on December 4 to support convenience store retailers. On business rates, ACS recommends a 2% cap on annual rates increases to provide businesses with greater certainty in their financial ...
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News
ACS urges review of use of police cautions
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has urged the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to press ahead with a review of the use of cautions for offences such as shop theft. The MoJ has announced new guidance for the police stipulating that that criminals should not get more than one ‘simple’ ...