Legislation

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The Rural Shops Alliance is becoming aware that current Rural Shop owners wishing to refurbish or expand their business and those looking to purchase a rural shop are finding it increasingly difficult to secure loans and mortgages from banks and other providers.

They would like to hear from anyone who has been refused a loan or mortgage or had any other similar problems, particularly if a specific reason for refusal of the loan or mortgage has been given.

Please contact Gary Hepburn at the RSA via: gary.hepburn@ruralshops.org.uk

For more information about the Rural Shops Alliance click here

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Screenshot_2015-11-24-11-09-46 (2)The British Retail Consortium and  The Food and Drink Federation have released a guidance document advising retailers, producers and authorities on how to make a ‘free-from’ claim on a product in order to regulate free-from allergen claims on food and drink packaging.

Currently there are no specific rules at either UK or EU level governing the use of ‘free-from’. This guidance will help business operators know when and how to label and also provides an overview of relevant UK and EU legislation. It will also give help with the key things to be  considered with regard to appropriate manufacturing practices and also when carrying out a risk assessment.

The guidance can be viewed here

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From October 5th businesses with over 250 full time equivalent  employees in England will have to charge 5p for a disposable carrier   bag unless it is used to carry a varied list of exempt products  ( visit Gov.uk for full details)

Larger stores will have to ensure that the relatively complicated rules on when charging applies is passed down to individual checkout operators – and then make sure that the process is properly managed. Added complications include dealing with home deliveries, and how to control charging for bags at self-service checkouts.

Smaller businesses, who do not have to charge, may see  some regular customers asking for bags on a more frequent basis so that they can stockpile them to use for free during their visits to the supermarket.

So what should small businesses do? If they carry on supplying  free bags they might find that they will have to buy more bags to satisfy increased demand. If they charge will it put them at a disadvantage against the big boys?

The decision might be based on what actually happens in an individual business but, in reality, if customers accept paying for single-use bags at the supermarket will they quibble if they have to pay in smaller shops, particularity if the money raised is used to support recognised good causes.

Maybe it would be easier if a 5p charge just became the norm.

For some interesting comments and statistics on the use of plastic bags visit BBC news magazine

 

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New allergy labelling legislation

On 13 December, new legislation (the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011) will require food businesses to provide allergy information on food sold unpackaged in, for example, catering outlets, deli counters, bakeries and sandwich bars.

There will also be changes to existing legislation on labelling allergenic ingredients in prepacked foods. The Food Standards Agency have produced guidance to help businesses meet these new requirements which is available via the FSA website .

The FSA guide “What to consider when labelling food” is available here