Categories: General Fed news

Fed National Employee of the Year Meets Peterborough MP

Andrew Pakes, Labour MP for Peterborough, met with a local shop manager on Friday  June 19, 2026, two days after he had been crowned Employee of the Year at the 2026 Fed Awards, a celebration of excellence in UK independent retail.

During the meeting, Avda Kuchhadia, who runs Premier Neil’s, spoke about trade at the popular Peterborough convenience business which is owned by Fed member Neil Godhania. Also in attendance during the shop visit was the Fed’s political engagement coordinator Douglas Oliver.

Mr Kuchhadia explained how we had beaten competition from across the UK and Ireland for his outstanding role managing the shop, which included maximising trade, and implementing a waste reduction system that delivered measurable results as well as stepping up during challenging circumstances to keep the store running smoothly.

As part of the discussion, Mr Kuchhadia spoke about how drink and snack sales  were booming in part because of the warm summer weather and also spurred on by the start of the 2026 Men’s Football World Cup. Mr Kuchhadia also spoke about the central role the shop provides to the area, participating in charity work, community product activations and as a familiar face in the community, which is located at Tyesdale on the north side of the East Anglian Cathedral city.

The Fed team also spoke about the potential of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans – and hopefully boosting footfall for small shops as return points – once it goes live in October 2027.

However, Mr Kuchhadia spoke about the problems caused by shop theft and the Fed’s work to highlight the need for greater resourcing for local authority trading standards to tackle the market in illegal goods like black market tobacco.

Mr Kuchhadia was recently interviewed by ITV local news where he discussed how illicit trade was undermining responsible retail and driving products like tobacco and vapes into the hands of organised crime groups. The meeting also came shortly after it was announced the Government was tackling rogue trade by extending powers to increase closure orders and provide greater eye-marked resourcing for local authority trading standards teams.

The Fed team also spoke about some of the cost pressures facing small businesses across the UK. As well as rising energy and business rates costs, these included higher National Insurance Contributions.

Mr Pakes said: “It was great to meet Avda and congratulate him on his recent award. It is clear that he does a brilliant job managing the shop and what a great role model he is for all those working in independent retail across the country. It was interesting to discuss how he uses store data to properly stock this vital community retailer I acknowledge the challenges small business face and I look forward to working with Avda and the Fed team in the months ahead to ensure we do what we can to support small shops.”

Mr Kuchhadia said: “I would like to thank Andrew for his close interest and kind words following my award. We have a great team at this business and it was good to discuss the range of products and services we provide – as well as the challenges we face with rising costs.”

Threat of Retail Crime raised with Rosie Duffield MP in Canterbury

The continued threat of retail crime and store theft, along with rising business rates were discussed when Independent MP for Canterbury Rosie Duffield met with senior member of the Fed, Ashish Patel, at St Martins Hill Post Office in the town on Friday, June 5 2026.

Mr Patel, who is the Fed’s South East district president, was joined by his brother Haresh Patel, who has a store in Herne Bay,  as well as the Fed’s Political Engagement Coordinator Douglas Oliver.

Mr Patel explained he has run a series of retail businesses across Kent for a quarter century, including the St Martins Hill Post Office, which he has had since 2017. He told Ms Duffield about the growing challenges facing small shops, which he said had “never been as tough and challenging”.

Mr Patel also specifically identified high levels of theft which had impacted his business’s bottom line through lost stock as well as through indirect costs through the extra security he had to install, including expensive CCTV. He also highlighted a serious ram raid which hit the shop’s ATM in November 2021 inflicting massive damage on the building.

Mr Patel said: “I would like to thank Ms Duffield for her visit and taking the time to listen to the concerns the Fed and I have over retail crime which remains extremely high. I have been working with the Fed locally and nationally to call on the Police to boost their Neighbourhood presence and overall approach to retail crime.”

“I also raised my concerns about rising business rate bills which include certain small shops including several run by members in various parts of Kent. The Fed believes the Government needs to do more to support small shops that are an important part of the character of local communities like this one.”

Scottish government praises independent retailers and Fed role following election

Scottish economy secretary Stephen Flynn has acknowledged the key role that independent retailers play in communities and has praised the Fed for its support of small shops.

His comments came in a letter to the Fed’s Scottish president, Uthayakumar Soundararajan. Mr Soundararajan had written to Mr Flynn and other senior politicians, including First Minister John Swinney, Deputy First Minister, and Finance and local government secretary Jenny Gilruth and justice secretary Neil Grey, congratulating them on their success in the May elections.

In his letters, Mr Soundararajan also highlighted the challenges facing the small independent retail sector in Scotland, including concerns about high levels of retail crime, rising taxation and energy costs and the need for support for retailers adjusting to various regulatory changes, including the forthcoming deposit return scheme.

In his response, Mr Flynn wrote: “I agree with your sentiments around independent retail stores being a vital part of local Scottish communities and acknowledge the challenges retailers have faced in recent years.”

He added: “Your continued commitment to the sector is welcomed and greatly appreciated. In the forthcoming weeks and months, myself and my colleagues look forward to working with your organisation to explore avenues for collaboration, share insights, and maximise opportunities for the sector to fulfil its potential and contribute to our economic transformation.”

Mr Flynn also praised the role the Fed plays as part of the Retail Industry Leadership Group, which was established in 2022 under the co-chairmanship of his predecessor Kate Forbes MSP.

Fed secures major 10-year carriage charge freeze concession for members

After years of sustained lobbying by the Fed, including a recent meeting between senior officials and Smiths News, today’s news that carriage charges will be frozen for 10 years has been welcomed.

The move was announced as Smiths News also revealed that it has won a 10-year contract to exclusively distribute the Sun, the Times and the Sunday Times across England, Wales and Scotland. This new contract will take effect from July 2027.

Commenting, National President Hetal Patel said: “Over a number of years, the Fed has met regularly with Smiths News executives and at every meeting we have stressed the key role that independent retailers play in the news supply chain and the challenges that members face from rising costs and retail crime.

“Last month we met with Smiths News again and were pleased to have the opportunity to hold full and frank discussions with its team about the challenges that members are facing.

“We emphasised the importance of protecting smaller news retailers and called for carriage charges to be reviewed again this year.

“Smiths News has listened to our concerns and, importantly, it has acted on them by taking the unprecedented decision to freeze carriage charges for a decade. This is a significant outcome for independent retailers at a time when many operating costs continue to rise.

“Doing this further underlines its commitment to making the news category more affordable.”

Mr Patel continued: “The news wholesaler has a clear strategy of diversification, providing a number of services alongside news delivery and a national footprint is key to these plans so the agreement between Smiths News and News UK is not surprising.

“However, the Fed has long opposed the concept of carriage charges since their inception, and we will be seeking guarantees that dual carriage charges in the new areas will be avoided, or an alternative solution is made available for our members.

“While we welcome this positive development, we will continue to fight our members’ corner and will press for a fair and sustainable news distribution system that works for all independent retailers.”

The Fed writes to Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney

The President of the Fed in Scotland, Uthayakumar Soundararajan, has written to congratulate John Swinney following the SNP’s success in last May’s election, offering to work with his Government to ensure the interests of small independent retailers are heard.

In his letter Mr Soundararajan said “this is a challenging time for the sector and our members due to retail crime, [and] high taxation…Now the election is complete, we would like to take the opportunity to discuss with you or your Government colleagues about how we support independent retail.”

However, his letter highlighted growing concern about the continued uncertainty caused by the potential price cap on certain supermarket products and the “distortionary” impact it could have on the wider sector, including small independent shops. The Fed is has been joined by a series of trade bodies across retail including the Scottish Retail Consortium the Scottish Grocers’ Federation, Food & Drink Federation Scotland and more.

The letter also spoke about the key challenges and opportunities likely to face small shops during the coming four-year term of the Holyrood Parliament. These were identified in its manifesto for the election which it originally published in January and focused on reducing theft, limiting cost increases for small shops and a smooth roll-out of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for recycling bottles and cans in Scotland and across the UK.

Mr Soundararajan pointed to the vast economic impact footprint of the Fed’s approximately 1,000 members across Scotland and the many thousand they employ. He also spoke of the significant social aspect of independent retail as they act as focal points of the communities they serve helping provide countless Scottish communities with a vital “sense of place.”

In its manifesto, the Fed has expressed its continued support for the Retail Crime Task Force in Scotland, who the Fed lobbied for and its renewal which was announced in the Scottish Government Budget in January. It also called for greater resourcing for local authority trading standards across Scotland.

The Fed Meets with Matt Vickers MP at Middleton St George Post Office

The Fed met with Matt Vickers MP at Middleton St George Post Office and Londis run by Shailendra and Versha Soti in his Stockton West constituency on Saturday,  June 6, 2026.

Mr Soti explained that the retail landscape was harder than ever a year after he took on ownership of the Londis store.  In particular, he expressed concern about the challenges caused by higher business rates following April’s business rate changes and revaluation, rising electricity bills and occasional incidents of retail crime.

Business rates rose for many small businesses in April following the loss of Small Business Rates Relief and a major revaluation in the value of businesses which help set rates bills.  High energy bills also remain a prime concern for Fed members given the war in Iran and uncertainty about energy supply. The Fed has been working to ensure there is greater political awareness of these issues which are hurting the financial bottom line of independent retailers across the country.

Mr Soti said: “I would like to thank Matt Vickers and his team for spending so much time talking to me and discussing the rising difficulties involved with running a small independent retail business. In particular I spoke about the range of rising costs including higher business rates and energy bills.”

Mr Vickers has a long-standing interest in retail, having worked in the sector before he went into Parliament and later serving as Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Future of Retail after he was elected to Westminster in December 2019.

In June 2025, Mr Vickers met with the Fed’s then National President Mo Razzaq and other senior Fed members in Parliament in his capacity as Shadow Crime and Policing Minister where they discussed the challenge of high theft and harassment levels facing Fed members.

Mr Vickers said: “It was great to speak with Shailendra and his team in Middleton St George. It is clear that the shop and Post Office are real focal points for people in the village who rely on it for such a vast range of key services and products including everything from postal, payment, package, newspaper, greeting cards, coffees and the usual range of convenience products.

 “Whilst it was positive to hear that retail crime is less of a challenge here compared to other shops, I remain concerned about the range of bills, including higher business rate bills, energy costs and more. I look forward to working with the Fed to ensure the concerns of retailers like Shailendra and Versha are heard in Parliament in the months ahead.”

Fed President Hetal Patel Speaks with Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner

The National President of the Fed and Berkshire Retailer, Hetal Patel, spoke with his Thames Valley police and crime commissioner, Matthew Barber, on Thursday, 14 May to discuss the challenge of retail crime facing small independent retail businesses, including Fed members.

Also included Anne Bingham, the Fed’s head of communications.

Mr. Barber also updated the Fed team on Thames Valley’s work on his wider retail crime strategy, which he said would deliver fifty three more neighbourhood police officers this year. Mr. Barber praised the adoption of the DISC reporting tool, which was useful in some parts of the Thames Valley Police area.

He also spoke about Operation Purchase, the Force’s operational response to retail crime, which includes increasing the visible police and PCSO response to retail crime incidents, especially those involving violence and harassment against staff.

During the meeting Mr. Patel and Barber discussed their common interest in closing down illicit high street rogue traders selling unregulated and untaxed goods, like black market tobacco. Mr. Barber explained that this played a key role in fuelling organised crime and undermined legitimate retail and Mr. Patel expressed his concern that Fed members were being tarred with the same brush, despite playing by the rules.

Mr. Patel explained the Fed’s engagement with central Government, including meeting with the Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones MP, where the Fed had called on Government to provide greater resourcing and a more strategic focus for trading standards teams to support small retailers and police in tackling this problem.

Mr. Barber said he had also raised the issue with the Minister in correspondence. The Fed team also spoke about the importance of issuing effective closure orders to ensure that retailers could not simply reopen after committing illegal acts as well as the Fed’s wish for those found guilty of illegal trade to lose access to lucrative commercial relationships.

Mr. Patel said: “It was a useful and productive meeting and I was particularly pleased to raise my concerns about the continued problem of illegal trade on the High Street which undermines responsible retailers like Fed members.”

“Thank you to Hetal and the Fed team for their input. I look forward to working with the Fed in the months ahead to ensure we continue to do what we can to tackle the scourge of theft, harassment and rogue trade impacting our high streets and communities.”