શ્રેણીઓ: ફેડની સામાન્ય ખબરો

The Fed calls on Government to engage retailers ahead of high-caffeine energy drinks ban for children

The Fed has called on Government to fully engage with retailers ahead of the ban on high-caffeine energy drinks for children under the age of 16 in England, from April next year, and help assist them with transition.

Last November, the Fed contributed to the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC’s) consultation on the proposals and said that many retailers already implemented voluntary restrictions for under-16s and said that a full legal ban could be unnecessary.

Commenting, Fed National President Hemanshu Patel said: “Many of our members already institute a voluntary ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks for under-16s. Now that the full legal ban is in place, we urge DHSC and the Government to fully engage with members on this, as we do in other areas of regulation on their sales. This is something that the Scottish Government previously consulted on but opted instead for a self-regulatory approach, which has merits.

“This remains a challenging time for independent retailers, both because of rising costs, but also because of unprecedented regulatory change which imposes a big compliance challenge on our members and their staff. We will be communicating with members in England ahead of the April change and monitoring the ban once it takes effect in Spring next year.”

Fed reacts with concern to proposed vape display ban

The Fed has reacted with concern to proposals for a vape display ban similar to that already in place for cigarettes, following the launch of a Government consultation, spearheaded by the Department of Health and Social Care.

Commenting, the Fed National President, Hemanshu Patel, said: “The Fed’s members are adjusting to significant regulatory change in a range of areas, including tobacco products and now vapes. The Fed strongly supports existing measures to prevent children using vapes through proper enforcement of age checks and is also calling for greater support from trading standards and other units within law enforcement to help them in this area and to deal with greater regulatory change in general.

“However, we are concerned about the scale and cost of rapid change which retailers will need to prepare for, and the need for adult customers to have the information and product variety they need, so they can continue to use vapes to move away from smoking tobacco.”

“The Fed will be completing the consultation in the 12-week window in which this remains open after fully engaging with member concern on this topic.”

The measures could involve significant display overhaul for retailers, new white packaging for vapes and nicotine products, and limits on the design of vape devices. As part of the consultation, which will be open until October, the Fed is likely to share evidence of the cost and upheaval associated with the changes for independent retailers who are already stretched. Further details of the Government consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/tobacco-and-vapes-packaging-appearance-and-display as well as the Fed’s reaction on the Tobacco and Vapes Act when it received Royal Assent in April. 

Fed’s National President Meets with Merseyside PCC

The Fed met with Emily Spurrell, police and crime commissioner for Merseyside, on Monday, July 6 to discuss some of the challenges facing small retailers in the Merseyside region as well as across the rest of the UK.

Attending the meeting was the Fed’s National President Hemanshu Patel and the Fed’s political engagement coordinator, Douglas Oliver, as well as the PCC’s Portfolio and Partnerships Officer leading on retail crime, Natalie Carroll.

During the meeting, Ms Spurrell spoke about the partnership work her office had done on leading retailer business forums on crime, intensified enforcement, hotspot policing involving PCSOs and a project that funded a Safer POD in Liverpool city centre.

The Fed team outlined its concerns about theft and harassment of small shop workers and cases of theft which remain stubbornly high. It explained to the Merseyside area PCC that the Fed has engaged positively with the government including meeting the crime and policing minister Sarah Jones in recent months, where initiatives including the Crime and Policing Act and last year’s Safer Summer Streets Initiative and Winter of Action, which the Commissioner had also supported, were discussed.

Mr Patel spoke about the growing problems caused by rogue trade in the high street, particularly relating to black market tobacco. He said that whilst the Police’s role was important, a strategic multiagency approach was needed and the Fed was starting to have some success in its call on the government to take faster action to close down shops which had acted illegally.

The Fed team also said it was backing extra resourcing for trading standards at a national level, though it was also calling on its 8,000 members across the country to always report such activity through Crimestoppers.

Mr Patel also said that greater incentives needed to be provided for local authorities so that fines could be reinvested by local authority teams so as to incentivise local authority trading standards.

As well as serving as Merseyside’s Labour PCC since May 2021, Ms Spurrell currently serves as chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) providing strategic leadership across England. The Fed team promised to work closely together going forward, particularly following the formation of a new government in Westminster, which will almost certainly be led by fellow North West Labour representative – Makerfield MP and erstwhile Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell said: “I welcomed the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Federation of Independent Retailers to hear directly about the challenges facing shop owners and retail workers across Merseyside.

 “Retail crime, theft and the intimidation of shop staff has a significant impact on businesses, employees and local communities. Through our Retail Crime Forums, partnership work with retailers, targeted enforcement activity and neighbourhood policing, we are working with partners to tackle these issues and make our town and city centres safer.

“This discussion was a valuable opportunity to share ideas and explore where we can work together to support retailers, strengthen reporting and prevent crime.”

Mr Patel said: “It was a very positive meeting. The Fed continues to ensure that the voice of independent retailers is heard in parliament, government and in the police and this meeting was an important part of that. We look forward to working with Ms Spurrell and her team in the future.”

The Fed welcomes introduction of Respect Orders as part of Government push to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour

Having raised members’ concerns about anti-social behaviour including harassment and vandalism with government ministers over recent months, the Fed’s National President Hemanshu Patel has welcomed this week’s announcement of a new Respect Order to make high streets safer.

The Home Office has said the new tool, which takes effect from October 26 this year and forms part of the Crime and Policing Act which the Fed has backed, will enable police and local councils to take stronger enforcement action to tackle relentless adult offenders – including prison sentences. The Home Office has said officers will be able to ban individuals from town centres or stop them drinking in public hotspots like high streets and local parks. Offenders can also be compelled to undertake drug or alcohol treatment to anger management courses as part of the measures, instead of simply being allowed to return to the streets and start the cycle again.

Commenting, Mr Patel said: “The Fed has raised the challenge of Anti-Social Behaviour on High Streets – impacting many of our members – as well as the related challenges of theft and rogue trade with the Government in recent months. This included last year’s meeting I attended at the Home Office as Vice President, along with my predecessor, Hetal Patel, so this announcement is welcome.

“Anti-social behaviour wreaks a real negative emotional and financial toll on our members and their staff. Whilst ASB is not a new thing, we welcome new focus from the Government on this and the Fed will engage with Government on the implementation of these measures and review what success they have.”

Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones MP, said: “Antisocial behaviour can devastate lives. Behind every statistic are residents who want to feel safe where they live, and neighbourhoods held hostage by the same repeat offenders.

“Respect Orders will ban perpetrators from the places they blight, force them to confront the causes of their behaviour and make breaching one a criminal offence with serious consequences, including prison.”

The Fed meets with Sir Roger Gale MP in Kent

The  Fed met with Sir Roger Gale MP at Sandwich Convenience Store, owned by Pritesh and Bhavna Patel, in the Sandwich and Herne Bay constituency, on Friday 3^rd July.

Mr and Mrs Patel spoke about the challenges and opportunities facing the shop, which they have owned for the last seven years. They also introduced Sir Roger to the next door gift shop Balloons R Us which they acquired in May 2026. Also in attendance was the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator, Douglas Oliver.

In particular, they discussed problems with parking in the popular medieval Kent town, famous as one of the historic Cinque Port towns.

The Fed previously met with Sir Roger – who has been an MP in East Kent since 1983 – in Parliament last year and has previously worked with the MP at many points over his more than four decades in politics. Sir Roger has also visited Mr Patel’s second shop, which is located in nearby Minster, which he formally opened in July 2023.

During the meeting, the Fed team discussed challenges with rising taxation including higher National Insurance Contributions as well as higher commercial costs, including energy bills necessary for refrigeration.

The Fed also discussed potential opportunities to drive footfall, such as parcel collections and collectable items linked to online Tik Tok trends, including the current Dumpling Squishy toy craze.  Mr Patel spoke about the introduction of the deposit return scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans, which is due to start in October 2027. He advised that he was currently investigating options for installing a return point, potentially a reverse vending machine (RVM), so local people could return their bottles and cans for recycling, in exchange for a 20p deposit.

Sir Roger Gale said: “I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Patel for their warm welcome. It was very useful to discuss the problems facing retailers in Sandwich from rising costs, to local parking matters. The Fed is rightly concerned about the impact of National Insurance charges and Business Rates and Retail crime- I look forward to working with them on these matters.”

Pritesh Patel said: “It was great to catch up with Sir Roger and we greatly appreciated his visit and interest. It was useful to discuss business in my shop, which is always busy. However, it was good to discuss the political and economic challenges I face, along with many other independent retailers and Fed members.”

Fed Welcomes Burnham pledge to help small shops on business rates

The Fed has welcomed comments made by Andy Burnham MP – ahead of his likely appointment as Prime Minister this month – promising to prioritise reform of business rates, favouring high street businesses, including small retailers like many Fed members. The Fed has repeatedly raised concerns about rising business rates in recent months.

Mr Burnham has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017 and was planning to visit Fed member and National Vice President, Craig Etchells, at his business in Chorlton in Manchester in September, where they were due to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing retailers, including rising business rates. However, following his election to the Makerfield constituency in June, the meeting was cancelled – though the Fed plans to reinvite him soon.

In his first major speech following his return to Westminster politics – at the People’s History Museum in Manchester – Andy Burnham said he wanted to “… support all places to turn around towns, high streets and local centres, increasing footfall on the high street and protecting more green spaces from development.

“To reinforce that, we will reform business rates to support pubs and high street businesses, businesses that bring social benefits to our communities. And let me finish by saying this. Rather than being a marker of decline, shouldn’t we make our high streets the symbols of Britain’s renaissance”.

Fed National President, Hemanshu Patel, said, “The Fed has been working hard to ensure that the Government understands the challenges an increasing number of our members face in dealing with rising business rates. Following reforms in April, which saw many members losing Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Relief brought in during the pandemic, combined with a radical business rates revaluation, bills for many have gone up.

“Bricks and mortar retailers often face higher relative bills than online out of town retailers that can locate where they like. We know this is a challenging matter, given how much revenue business rates brings the exchequer but we are calling for necessary reform and will be interested to see what he can deliver. We hope to discuss this matter further with Mr Burnham after he becomes Prime Minister.”

The Fed and IRC Survey on economic outlook for Independent Retailers

The Fed is once again collaborating with other independent retail trade bodies who are in the Independent Retailers Confederation (The IRC) on a survey to understand the economic outlook facing independent retailers.

The Survey link for Q2 of 2026 – the period from April to June this year – is now live: link for the survey is here. 

Fed members are encouraged to complete this survey now and it will remain live until 11.59pm on 19^થ July 2026.

The survey has been used in the past to understand the challenges facing small independents and then use this data to influence government through lobbying, for example when we used it to raise concern about the rise in business rates following the start of the new financial year in April. Whilst the IRC has a wide membership, many other trade bodies associated with it have similar concerns to Fed members about topics like retail crime, rising taxation facing business and regulatory change.

For more information, Fed members can contact our Political Engagement Coordinator to understand our work for small shops, both with the IRC and independently: douglas.oliver@nfrn.org.uk If you are interested in learning more about the IRC, please visit its website.

The Fed Reacts to HMRC’s Reported “Tax Gap” on Illegal Tobacco 

The Fed has reacted to recent government data published by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) indicating that there is a big difference between tobacco products sold and tax collected, indicating a huge market share has been taken by black market tobacco from responsible retailers like Fed members.

In data shared in June HMRC data showed that £1.3 billion lost in tobacco duty and about £0.4 billion lost in Value Added Tax (VAT). The HMRC says its data is based on “methodology which estimates the total market size for each tobacco product and then takes away the amount actually cleared.”

Commenting, Fed National President, Hemanshu Patel, said: “This data is concerning – but it is also unsurprising and may even be an underestimate. Fed members across the country – including the business I run myself as a retailer in Kent – report anecdotal evidence that tobacco is being sold by rogue traders for much less than what the official price should be.”

“The Fed is calling for extra resourcing to be provided by central Government to help local authorities provide proper support for retailers seeking to do the right thing. Whilst the Government is starting to take efforts to tackle this, looking at new powers to close down shops for up to 1 year, more needs to be done.  The vast lost tax revenue from shows that extra resourcing can ultimately pay for itself and this could be a win-win for Government and business if they more in this area.”