Communities come together to support as shops ransacked during unrest
Members of the Middlesbrough community come together to clean up their streets after far-right activists destroyed property following riots on August 05, 2024 in Middlesbrough, England. Dozens of people have been arrested after a violent protest here yesterday, in which a car was set alight, windows were smashed, and objects were thrown at police. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
Communities across the country are coming together to pick up pieces after looters ransacked shops across the UK, taking advantage of Friday (2) night's chaos.
More than 150 arrests were made over the course of two days as far-right thugs smashed up cars, looted shops, attacked police and set fire to buildings. Riots erupted across the country, including in Belfast, Hull, Rotherham, Bristol and Middlesbrough, in response to the Southport attacks last week.
Convenience stores like King Store in Liverpool and Windsor Mini Mart in Southport were ransacked amidst the violence. Rioters in Manchester caused chaos in a Sainsbury's supermarket, leaving the store in a mess and forcing it to close.
Multiple fundraisers have been launched to support businesses damaged and local services hit by the violence. The the crowdfunding page to support retailer Chanaka Balasuryla who owns Windsor Mini Mart has raised about £14,635.
According to reports, Belfast locals raised £70,000 on GoFundMe to support businesses damaged in what was described as racially-motivated attacks. Turkish barbers and cafés were hit by the city's violence on Saturday, as organiser Stephen Montgomery said enough was raised to be able to help even more businesses affected.
Apart from fund raising, locals are also seen coming forward in the cleaning process. Like, locals joined council workers to clear up around the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manvers, near Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Police officers stood guard outside the main entrance and at other locations around the building as teams swept up glass from the numerous broken windows at the front of the hotel.
Meanwhile, Downing Street meanwhile has confirmed it will be holding an emergency Cobra meeting today (5) in response to the disorder, with plans for courts to sit through the night to deal with those charged. Prime minister Keir Starmer on Sunday (4) condemned what he described as “far-right thuggery” and said perpetrators would face the full force of the law after days of violent anti-immigration protests intensified, with buildings and vehicles torched and hotels holding asylum seekers targeted.
Today's meeting is due to involve relevant ministers and police representatives who will discuss the response in the coming days to ensure there is no repeat of the violent scenes. Across the weekend, dozens of people were arrested after violent disorder broke out in major towns across the UK including Liverpool, Hull and Bristol.
Sir Keir said he wanted those who "feel targeted because of the colour of their skin" to know "this violent mob do not represent our country".
Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) said it is “conscious” of the effect that this might have on its members, who may be affected or concerned about being impacted over the coming days.
The trade body said it is working to provide help and guidance to retailers and colleagues during this time, and highlighted that help for retailers and colleagues is available through crisis support at GroceryAid, whom the ACS said are prepared for calls related to these incidents.
ACS added that they are also in discussion with the Home Office about the way the Riot Compensation Act’s provisions can be applied in these incidents, where retailers will be able to claim compensation if they have been impacted by a riot. In addition, ACS will be feeding in its members’ experiences through the Home Office and other departments so they can be fed into COBRA and other government briefings in the ongoing response.
The Institute for Grocery Distribution (IGD) has released the report, "A Net Zero Transition Plan for the UK Food System", providing a framework for the food sector to achieve 70 per cent emissions reductions in agriculture and to fully decarbonize heat, electricity and transport.
Commissioned by IGD and developed by consultants EY and WRAP, the first of its kind report provides an independent, evidence-based view for how the UK food system in its entirety, can reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions in line with a 1.5degree SBTi outcome and to meet the UK’s legally binding national target.
Currently, food and drink is the UK’s largest manufacturing industry – it provides 4.4 million jobs, contributes over £100bn to GDP, and generates 30 per cent of all UK territorial emissions much of this relating to agriculture with significant contributions from energy and logistics. The report aims to inform and support further pre-competitive collaboration across the various sectors of the food industry, under the common goal of emissions reduction. It outlines 19 steps that the Government can take to enable this, with a particular focus on strengthening policy for agriculture and energy.
In the short term, the report proposes immediate action by industry and government to support the domestic farming transition and on a set of standards for food imports. Together with action on energy efficiency and low-carbon power generation and significant reductions in food waste, the report shows that 2030 emissions reductions targets are very challenging but achievable.
Kirsty Saddler, Director of Health & Sustainability Programmes, IGD, said: “This UK Food System Transition Plan is a first of its kind approach at unifying wide-ranging perspectives within the food industry around the aim of accelerating progress in emissions reduction. The UK food industry is deeply connected to the climate crisis both as a contributor of emissions but also as an industry that is dependent upon a stable and healthy ecosystem to grow and provide food for the country. All organisations across the system can make better progress, faster, if we work together and with government.”
The framework offered reviews pathways on both the supply side and the demand side, showing the contribution that can be made by the population through diet change, using the NHS Eatwell Guide as a basis. This report also notes the critical role reductions in food waste, particularly by households, can make. Halving food waste in the UK by 2030, in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 and the Courtauld Commitment 2030, is estimated to remove about 5 per cent of all food-related emissions.
Catherine David, Director of Behaviour Change and Business Programmes at WRAP, said:“I'm delighted that IGD, with WRAP's support, is launching this report today, which marks a significant step forward towards action on greenhouse gas emissions in the food and drink sector. At WRAP, we are passionate about evidence driven collaborative action which is brought together by our Courtauld Commitment 2030. We hope this report, uniting the whole of UK food and drink, will help catalyse a fresh and focused phase of collaborative action on the urgent issues that industry must tackle.”
Ministers are getting under pressure to impose taxes on packaged foods containing high content of salt and/or sugar.
In a plea addressed to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the health secretary, Wes Streeting, representing 35 health groups, it is highlighted that taxing unhealthy foods such as cakes, sweets, biscuits, crisps and savoury snacks would generate billions of pounds for the Treasury and cut the number of people becoming ill as a result of a bad diet.
The signatories include groups representing the UK’s doctors, dentists and public health directors, health charities including Diabetes UK and the World Cancer Research Fund, and a senior figure in the chef Jamie Oliver’s organisation.
Anna Taylor, the executive of the Food Foundation, which also signed the letter, said, “The damage the food industry is doing to children’s health is the biggest threat to our nation’s wellbeing and future productivity and this needs to be reined in – urgently.
“The government must now get bolder, creating real incentives to force the industry to align with public health goals, further and faster.”
The health groups want ministers to start tightly regulating the food industry. They said relying on the industry to voluntarily clean up its act nutritionally, as the previous Conservative governments did during 2010-24, had not yielded meaningful change.
“Voluntary reformulation programmes for sugar, salt and calories are not proving effective enough, achieving only a 3.5 per cent reduction in sugar levels of key product categories, compared to the mandatory soft drinks industry levy (sugar tax), which has achieved a reduction in total sales of 34.4 per cent between 2015 and 2020,” the letter says.
Jamie O’Halloran, a senior research fellow at the IPPR, said: “Without bold regulatory changes, our food system will continue to fall short in promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly for those on the lowest incomes.
“Expanding levies to cover other high-sugar and ultra-processed products could be transformative, especially if the resulting revenue is used to support low-income households to make healthy food choices.”
A government spokesperson said: “Obesity is a significant health challenge, which affects 26 per cent of adults and costs the NHS £11.8bn per year.
“The budget took action to ensure the soft drinks industry levy maintains its incentive to encourage healthier soft drinks, and we will publish a 10-year health plan in spring 2025.”
This comes a week after Reeves announced in the budget that the Treasury was looking into whether the sugar tax, which came into effect in 2018, should be extended to other very sweet products, including milkshakes and highly sugared coffees as it is widely regarded as having been a success.
Earlier, a YouGov poll showed public support on such taxes as long as the revenue is ploughed into children’s health.
The representative survey of 4,943 British adults by YouGov, commissioned by food campaigners’ Recipe for Change initiative, also found that 74 per cent think food firms are not honest about the health impact of their products while 61 per cent worry about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.
Only 13 per cent believe producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention while 72 per cent worry about high levels of processing used in food production.
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The Fed mourns ex-President Margaret Adams, retail pioneer
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Tireless work by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) Contact Centre has seen almost a quarter of a million pounds recovered from news wholesalers in 2024.
The latest figures show that £187,130 has been recovered in missing credits, missing vouchers and recharges, as well as money saved through waived deposits for news wholesale accounts.
A further £40,338 was recovered in restitution for instances of late supply or missing supply having an impact on home news deliverers, taking the overall total paid back to members this year to date to £227,468.
“Once again our Contact Centre has delivered for members," said The Fed’s National President, Mo Razzaq. "This is testament to the tireless work of the team, ensuring Fed members are not left out of pocket when things go wrong.
“The amount of money the team has recovered in 2024 is further proof that, for independent retailers, it really does pay to be a member of the Federation.”
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PayPoint unveils new partnership with Leeds Credit Union
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PayPoint and Northern Ireland electricity supplier, Share Energy, have announced a new partnership that will provide pre-payment customers with convenient payment solutions available immediately at PayPoint locations.
The partnership means all pre-payment Share Energy customers can now top-up their electricity meters in any one of PayPoint’s 1,167 stores in Northern Ireland.
Share Energy brings an innovative, customer-first approach to the energy market, with its attractive profit-share revenue model poised to drive rapid, large-scale customer growth. The partnership with PayPoint ensures that robust payment services and infrastructure are in place to support this anticipated demand.
The partnership further demonstrates Share Energy’s commitment to enhancing customer experience, complemented by PayPoint’s dedication to leveraging technology to improve payment services and the end-user experience.
“We’re proud to be supporting Share Energy through the provision of an accessible and convenient payment service for its customers," said PayPoint Head of Business Development, Ian Ranger. "As we enter the colder months topping up energy meters will become an essential task for many. Through our network of retailers in Northern Ireland we’re pleased to provide a close and easy payment solution with this partnership. Our network allows customers to combine daily errands at a store close to home and experience a quick and streamlined payment service.”
Damian Wilson, Share Energy CEO, added: “We are excited to partner with PayPoint, as this collaboration strengthens our commitment to delivering a seamless, customer-focused experience.
“With PayPoint’s advanced payment solutions, we are well positioned to support our rapid growth and provide our customers with reliable, convenient options that enhance their experience with us.”
Shoppers' spending on FMCG saw a rise in the third quarter of this year, shows a latest industry data, revealing a narrowing gap between own-label and branded products as the growth rates indicate shoppers are now starting to treat themselves to small indulgences again.
According to latest NIQ Retail Spend Barometer, value growth in the FMCG sector was driven by an uptick in the personal care (+10.7 per cent), homecare (+8.7 per cent), fresh food (+5.8 per cent), and snacking (+5.1 per cent) categories. Beverages returned to growth (+2.1 per cent), from a decline of 0.9 per cent in Q2. Meanwhile, the biggest declines were experienced in tobacco (-7.9 per cent) and paper products (-4.1 per cent).
NIQ attributed the rebound largely to the sales boost from the Euros and Olympics, which took place in July and August, and slightly sunnier weather compared to last year. Despite improved consumer confidence in Q2, this stalled in Q3 as economic and financial uncertainty continued to impact consumers. However, within FMCG, lower inflation is now leading to better volume growth.
The NIQ data also reveals a narrowing gap between own-label and branded products as the growth rates indicate shoppers are now starting to treat themselves to small indulgences again. In Q1 of this year, FMCG branded unit growth was recorded at 0.7 per cent compared to 3.1 per cent for own-label. However, in Q3 branded unit growth sits at 1.1 per cent versus 1.7 per cent for own-label.
Ben Morrison, Retail Services Director UK & IRE at NIQ, said: “The first eight months of the year so far have been more optimistic compared to 2023, but shoppers remain cautious. We are seeing more considered purchasing, particularly within T&D as consumers opt to replace products when they must rather than upgrade a working one.
"This also plays to the desire for more sustainable living – beyond just energy efficiency – which is adding to the decision process. When it comes to upgrades, credit schemes offer immediate gratification and are used more often by those on higher incomes to enable upgrades for non-essential big-ticket items”.
“As for FMCG, retailers will be pleased to see a slight increase in the rate of growth in the sector in Q3, largely boosted by the big sporting events over the summer. With the gap closing between branded and own-label items, shoppers are open to spending on certain items.
"However, building financial resilience remains a challenge for consumers. According to GfK’s Consumer Confidence Barometer, a quarter of consumers reported they were ‘just managing’ at the end of Q3 and 1 in 3 said they were unlikely to be able to save in the year ahead. Shoppers, therefore, remain cautious, so as we enter the golden quarter, promotions across retailers are going to be key in persuading savvy shoppers to trade up.”