Inquiry may be avoided

A merger deal between two of the main fuel pump suppliers to the UK market may avoid a threatened full-scale inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The CMA said there were reasonable grounds for believing that one of the proposals for the merger, or a modified version of them, might be acceptable to remedy the competition concerns it had identified.

Minimum wage worry

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called for strong enforcement against minimum wage avoidance after estimates than more than 360,000 jobs could be paid less than the limit.

The Office for National Statistics reports that there are an estimated 362,000 jobs which pay less than the minimum National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage, 178,000 of which are full time.

MP visit for HKS

MP for Sherwood, Mark Spencer, has visited a Londis convenience store and forecourt in his constituency operated by Top 50 Indie HKS Retail. Cyrus Kasraie, manager of the Rainworth store, detailed the changes the store has made to meet the needs of customers and the regulatory issues faced by the business. The store has recently installed an ATM to build on its service offer and provide access to cash for the local community.

Truck plug-in grants

The government is committing an additional £4m to the plug-in van grant scheme extending the eligibility to larger electric vehicles, with electric trucks above 3.5 tonnes becoming eligible for grants of up to £20,000. The plug-in van grant has been available to small commercial vehicles of up to 3.5 tonnes since 2012, but sales of new electric vans have remained limited.

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