At least nine local authorities nationwide did not start a single investigation into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products from 2018 to 2022, a new research has found.
The nine authorities were: Calderdale, East Dunbartonshire, Isle of Anglesey County Council, Rochdale, Havering, Lambeth, City of London, Kingston upon Thames, and York.
Other councils, such as Hull, have taken robust action to tackle the issue, with 249 investigations and 53 prosecutions, more than any other council. Middlesbrough was also relatively active in this area, with 416 investigations, and 15 prosecutions.
Responses to Freedom of Information requests sent to 96 councils across England and Wales have shown significant variation between the approaches taken by local councils.
Councils in London (Kingston), Manchester (Rochdale), Wales (Isle of Anglesey County Council), and Scotland (East Dunbartonshire) were amongst those taking no action.
Commenting on the data, Sarah Connor, communications director at JTI UK, said: “Some councils' poor enforcement of existing laws raises doubts about their ability and capacity to enforce a more complex generational ban. Illegal tobacco is already a significant issue, and the generational ban has the potential to worsen this, by driving adult smokers to buy cigarettes from organised gangs.”
The government is consulting on a proposal to raise the smoking age by one year every year, potentially phasing out smoking among young people almost completely as soon as 2040.
JTI noted that lack of action by councils will 'undoubtedly lead' to increased sales of illegal tobacco, which is often linked to organised crime, and contributing to the large tobacco tax gap.
This gap, as estimated by HMRC, is the difference between the amount of tax that should, in theory, be paid to HMRC, and what is actually paid. Since 2018, £9.3 billion in tax revenue has been lost in this way. In 2021-22, alone, the tax gap was £2.2 billion.
According to the Police Federation, £2.2 billion could pay for more than 77,000 new police officers.
Top performers
Local Authority
Location
The number of investigations the Council has initiated into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)
The number of successful prosecutions the council has secured regarding the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)
Middlesbrough Council
Teesside
416
15
Newham
London Borough
256
0
Hull
Yorkshire and Humber region
249
53
Newport City Council
Wales
173
7
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council
Wales
172
18
Stockport
Manchester
172
2
Manchester
Manchester
161
18
Waltham Forest
London Borough
156
6
Doncaster
Yorkshire and Humber region
93
27
Bottom of the league
Local Authority
Location
The number of investigations the Council has initiated into the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)
The number of successful prosecutions the council has secured regarding the sale of illegal or counterfeit tobacco products (2018-2022)
A food and drink makers body is calling on the government to work with industry to boost growth and the competitiveness after a recent survey drop in the confidence among the maker as inflationary pressures including energy, labour and raw material costs gain pace.
According to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF), business confidence plummeted to -47 per cent in the final three months of last year, down from -6 per cent in the previous quarter, as companies in the sector were hit by measures announced in the October budget.
The confidence score among the country’s 12,500 food and drink businesses has slid to its lowest level since the final quarter of 2022, a time when inflation was surging after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier in that year.
Rising energy and commodity costs are among the pressures facing food and drink manufacturers in the coming year, according to the FDF’s state of industry report, as well the costs associated with government policies, such as changes to employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs).
Food and drink businesses are also due to carry the lion’s share of new packaging rules known as the extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme designed to improve recycling rates and tackle plastic pollution estimated to cost at least £1.4bn a year from October.
The FDF said the financial pressures weighing on confidence were causing businesses to reconsider investment, which could affect growth in the industry.
More than half (54 per cent) of the businesses that responded to the FDF’s survey said taxation was the leading factor that would constrain investment over the coming year, while 52 per cent said forthcoming regulation would act as a barrier to investment.
As higher labour costs bite, almost two-thirds (64 per cent) of manufacturers said their main motivation for investment was workforce efficiency, as they aimed to increase productivity from their current employees rather than hiring more staff.
“This marked decline in business confidence shows that government and industry needs to take action now to ensure we have a thriving, productive food and drink industry into the future,” said Karen Betts, the FDF’s chief executive.
“With pressures on industry mounting, government must act to remove the roadblocks and accelerate growth.”
The FDF is calling on the government to work with industry on regulation to boost growth and the competitiveness of the UK’s food and drink sector.
A range of measures has been recommended, including securing a share of the UK’s research and development spend for food and drink manufacturing to encourage businesses to invest in developing new products and healthier choices for consumers.
It is also calling for government and industry to work together on a workforce and skills plan and for ministers to prioritise a more strategic approach to trade relations with the EU, which despite Brexit remains the sector’s most important trading partner.
Independent retailers will seriously think twice about providing Payzone services in their stores following the news that the company is increasing its fees by 3.5 per cent from April, the National President of the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) has warned.
Letters advising of the increase have been arriving with members since the beginning of this month. They state that the increases to its weekly charge to £5.54 - and to £8.85 for those offering card processing - are in line with its annual retail index price adjustment.
Payzone says that the move will enable the company to continue investing in service improvements, security updates and partnerships that bring value to its network of retailers.
Describing the increase as a bitter pill for Payzone retailers to swallow, Mo Razzaq said, “Members who are affected by these fee increases may seriously think twice about continuing to offer Payzone services.”
They took effect as businesses prepared to face the perfect storm of higher wage costs and rises to employers’ national insurance contributions, Razzaq continued.
The Fed’s national deputy vice president Hemanshu Patel added that he had already cancelled his Payzone contract.
Mr Patel said: “Payzone has become an unsustainable service for retailers like me. The system is slow, unprofitable, and has seen little meaningful improvement over the years.
“With rising operational costs and better alternatives available, it simply does not make sense to continue offering this service in my store. Given the current economic climate, many small businesses will be forced to reconsider their partnership with Payzone, just as I am doing.”
It was reported in July last year that Payzone has partnered with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to provide easy access to newly modernized ZoneCard tickets for public transport across the Strathclyde region.
The partnership was expected to benefit both retailers and customers, with increased footfall into stores resulting in a boost to local business and community engagement.
Active police response was seen across the country in the past couple of days , resulting in the arrest of alleged thieves targeting convenience stores.
According to local reports, a man has been charged after three convenience stores in Norwich were raided with a crowbar.
The incidents happened at shops in Poringland, Stoke Holy Cross and Sandy Lane, near Trowse in Norwich between Feb 26 and March 19.
Money was stolen in each raid, with a crowbar being wielded. Some of the convenience stores were broken into overnight while others were targeted during working hours.
Jamie Curtis, 31, of Saxlingham Nethergate, has been charged with two counts of robbery and one count of burglary.
He appeared at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday and was remanded into custody. Curtis is due to appear at Norwich Crown Court on April 23.
Meanwhile in Colchester, a man has been arrested after being tracked by a police dog from the scene of a knifepoint robbery in Colchester.
Essex Police were alerted to an incident at Johnson Newsagents, a convenience shop in London Road, Lexden, shortly after 11.30am on Tuesday (25).
A man threatened the female cashier with a knife and demanded money from the till. He then left, taking about £200.
Officers were quickly sent to the scene and took a detailed description of the man. The police dog picked up the trail leading officers to arrest the suspect.
A knife was found nearby and was seized. The suspect remains in custody for questioning.
The investigation will now be led by Colchester CID.
Detective Inspector Tim Coyles said, “No one should face the threat of violence whilst simply going to work – and any report made to us concerning this will see a really robust response.
“Officers got there very quickly after the report was made, which meant we were able to very quickly identify a person of interest and ultimately make a key arrest.”
Hamesh Patel, owner of the Johnson Newsagents, said that the cashier was "scared and afraid".
Patel called the response by police "fantastic" and added, "The local community all came together in the search with police within minutes.
"The police sent numerous uniformed police, CID and forensics were on the scene in minutes. I have never seen the police act so fast and they were so brilliant.”
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D&I in Grocery LIVE! takes place on 26 September 2025
GroceryAid’s D&I in Grocery LIVE! has announces that award-winning journalist and broadcaster Steph McGovern will host this year’s event on 26 September 2025.
Award-winning presenter, journalist, content creator, speaker and disability activist, Lucy Edwards, will also join Steph on stage as the keynote speaker, offering an immersive and experiential session which brings to life the commercial value of D&I alongside its role in shaping culture.
McGovern is a passionate advocate for inclusion, using her platform as a broadcaster to promote diversity and acceptance, particularly around social mobility and women in business.
Steph McGovern
She is also involved in community and education projects outside of broadcasting, mentoring young people in her native Teesside and supporting initiatives that empower disadvantaged children through her patronage of the charity Rubies.
Having lost her sight at the age of 17 due to Incontinentia Pigmenti, Edwards has dedicated her career to raising awareness around the challenges faced by the blind and visually impaired community and promoting a more inclusive society.
She is a leading voice in the global diversity, equity and inclusion space, and consults for a variety of businesses. By focusing on the commercial value that D&I can bring organisations, GroceryAid said her keynote will be unlike anything delivered at previous events.
Lucy Edwards
“Steph and Lucy are both passionate and dedicated to diversity and inclusion and will be invaluable additions to this year’s event – we are absolutely delighted that they will join us to inspire the industry further by bringing their own perspective and experiences to the day,” Felicity Bexton, category buying manager at Tesco and chair of the D&I in Grocery LIVE! steering group, commented.
“Our recently launched D&I in Grocery 2024 Impact Report and 2025 Maturity Model results have shown the great progress our industry is making, and yet never has it been more important to work together to ensure we stay on the right path. This event is a fantastic opportunity to bring everyone together to drive real change within the industry.”
This year, the event will scale up its customer-focused approach, to support D&I in the currently challenging climate, and highlight the commercial value it can offer in driving business success. Content on the day will be shaped by the results of the Maturity Model launched last year to track and measure annual D&I progress within the industry.
This year will also see the return of the popular Topic Hacks which were launched in 2024. Bringing together a broad range of perspectives, skill sets and experiences, these sessions offer an innovative and collaborative approach to tackling key issues impacting D&I in the grocery industry.
D&I in Grocery LIVE! takes place on 26 September 2025 at the InterContinental London - The O2.
Over half of adults in Britain (55%) would support options other than a total ban on the legal sale of tobacco to future generations of adults, a new poll has found.
According to the survey by the smokers’ rights group Forest, a quarter (24%) would support keeping the legal age of sale at 18, with 31 per cent in favour of raising it to 21.
Less than two in five respondents (39%) said they would support a generational ban which will raise the age of sale of tobacco by one year every year so future generations of adults will never legally be sold tobacco.
Among 18-24 year-olds, two-thirds (66%) would support options other than a generational ban, nearly a third (30%) would keep the legal age of sale at 18, while 36 per cent would raise it from 18 to 21.
Given a choice of options, only 28 per cent of 18-24 year-olds would support a ban on the sale of tobacco to future generations of adults, the survey of 2,000 adults, conducted by Yonder Consulting on 17-18 March, found.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which proposes to increase the legal age for tobacco sales by one year every year, starting in 2027, has been passed by the House of Commons on Wednesday.