Looking Ahead & Co-operating Together

As the country gets to grips with the new normal and the Government outlines plans to stimulate the economy, it’s important that we continue to do the right thing, be that protecting colleagues and customers, supporting the most vulnerable members of our communities or protecting our business interests.  

Sometimes this requires us taking a stance on certain issues and calling out what we believe is not right or simply acting. This is the reason why following reports that the government is considering a suspension of the current Sunday trading laws, which prevent larger stores opening longer than six hours on a Sunday, I wrote to Business Secretary, Alok Sharma to warn that suspending the laws would have a disproportionately damaging impact on more remote and deprived communities across the UK. This has attracted some media attention and you can read the details here.

It’s also why we will be launching a campaign to have sunscreen products reclassified to alleviate them of their full VAT status. Currently, in the UK VAT of 20% is added to the cost of sun care products due to them being classified as cosmetic and treated as a luxury product. We believe that they are a necessary purchase helping to protect people’s health, preventing melanoma and should be exempt from VAT, making them more affordable for everyone. Dr Hillary Jones will be supporting the campaign and we will be calling on Members to write to their MP’s asking for change. Look out for more on this soon.  

I am sure that you would have seen in the news this week the successful campaigning by footballer Marcus Rashford to cause a Government U-turn and secure free meals for 1.4m vulnerable school children over the summer holidays. We have been actively involved in supporting the provision of free school meals across our trading area since the start of the programme in April. We have engaged with 40 of our partner schools, providing over £40k of gift vouchers to achieve this, but there is more we can do.

This week we have launched a new gift card in our Food stores that can be used as an alternative to paper gift vouchers. Money can be loaded onto the card which can then be redeemed against purchases in our stores. This will help us support schools in provisioning meals for vulnerable children throughout the summer holidays.

I would ask that before the end of the school term if you have contacts with a local school please make them aware that we can support the school meal vouchers scheme through our gift cards and vouchers, and that they can learn more by contacting our Membership Team on 0800 435902 who will provide full details of the scheme and help them purchase the gift cards they require.

The results of the colleague wellbeing pulse survey were published earlier in the week (see here) and I wanted to say how pleased I am that so many colleagues took part, it’s important that we hear from as many of you as possible to get a broad view of your thoughts. 

There were some really positive results, which was great to see and now each group will review their specific areas and progress any actions as a result of your feedback. We will continue to ask for your feedback through more regular surveys and so please do get involved and have your say.

Looking ahead to next week, it’s the start of Co-op Fortnight, which runs from 22nd June to 5th July, with International Day of Co-ops taking place on the 4th of July themed on Climate action.

This is a time where Co-operatives across the UK come together to promote co-ops and celebrate all the great things we do as Co-operatives. The theme for this year is, Let’s build something better together #KeepCooperating. In the first week, we will be sharing what we’ve been doing in response to the COVID-19 crises, followed in the second week by focusing on the hopes and aspirations for a more co-operative future and support for the UN Global Goals. Look out for daily updates on this and help spread the word about the difference co-operatives make.

Finally, I would like to thank you all for your continued hard work and to those that are celebrating it on Sunday, I wish you a happy Father’s Day.