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News from The Association of Convenience Stores and Surrey County Council

25 Mar 2014

The Association of Convenience Stores is leading the way with a new Assured Advice Scheme that will give all its members the opportunity to benefit from the type of certainty over their compliance procedures previously only afforded to multiple chains.

The `primary authority' scheme, one of the first to be established in the country, is a new partnership between Surrey County Council and ACS.

It is made possible by a change in the law that came into force on 1 October 2013 and the development of primary authority for trade associations is being supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The schemes launches with assured advice on how to handle compliance with the tobacco display ban coming into force on 6th April 2015 for convenience stores in England. A guide on preventing under age sales will be available as soon as primary authority schemes are allowed to cover alcohol in April 2014, and over the course of 2014 further assured advice guides are planned for:

The scheme is available to all ACS members who choose to sign up, (at no additional subscription fee). By being part of it retailers will have peace of mind that the policies and procedures in place in their store cannot be challenged and changed from one local authority to the next.

Scheme members will also be able to seek specific `assured advice' to deal with problems or issues as they arise.

ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: "ACS is proud to be leading the way in making it possible for convenience store retailers across England and Wales to benefit from primary authority. We are delighted to be working with Surrey County Council to achieve this. Our guidance is developed specifically for convenience store operators. It is simple, easy to use, and also unique because it comes with the reassurance that if you sign up, and follow the advice, you will have the confidence that your procedures are legally correct and not open to challenge by local officers."

David Hodge, Leader of Surrey County Council, said: "We've launched partnerships with Surrey businesses of all sizes to strengthen the local economy, and this link-up with ACS will help companies across England and Wales to get on with being successful."

Business Regulation Minister the Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP said: "We are delighted to endorse the partnership between ACS and SCC. In November 2013 we made it possible for trade associations to provide primary authority so that thousands of smaller businesses could benefit from the reassurance of a scheme that has proved successful for hundreds of larger businesses."

Text from: The Association of Convenience Press Office