Welsh Cross Party Group – Small Shops: What Services Voters Want Locally
Wednesday 9th July, 11:00 – 12:00 Microsoft Teams (Online)
MINUTES
PRESENT:
|
Name |
Organisation |
Minutes |
|
Edward Woodall |
ACS |
EW |
|
Daniel Askew |
ACS |
DA |
|
Rosie Wiggins |
ACS |
RW |
|
Vince Malone |
Tenby Stores Retailer |
VM |
|
Russell George |
MS for Montgomeryshire |
RG |
|
Ellis Smith |
Support Staff for Russell George MS |
ES |
|
Gwyneth Millington |
Postmaster and non-executive director for NFSP Wales |
GM |
|
Rhodri Thomas |
National Pharmacy Association Wales Representative |
RT |
|
Neeraj Shah |
Company Chemists’ Association |
NS |
|
Jamie Williams |
Support Staff for Dr Altaf Hussain MS |
JW |
|
Eluned Owen |
John Griffiths MS office (Internship) |
EO |
|
Joanne Beale |
Bira |
JB |
|
Michael Norman |
Post Office |
MN |
|
Catrin Heath |
MS Support Staff for Jeremy Miles |
CH |
|
Gwen Patterson |
National Federation Retail Newsagents |
GP |
|
Philippa Jones |
Support Staff for Luke Fletcher |
PJ |
|
Jim Winship |
British Sandwich and Food to Go Association |
JW |
|
Elizabeth Jenkins |
Support staff for John Griffiths MS |
EJ |
|
Ruth Buckley-Salmon |
National Federation Sub-postmasters |
RBS |
1. Apologies
Mike Hedges MS
Mark Isherwood MS
Llyr Gruffydd MS
Samuel Kurtz MS
Luke Fletcher MS
Rhun ap Iorwerth MS
2. Welcome and Introductions
RG welcomed IRC Members and MSs to the CPG on Small Shops and outlined the agenda for the session.
3. Community Barometer Report 2025 Insights
RW outlined the results of ACS’ Community Barometer Report 2025 providing insights on how people feel about the services that are local to them, the impact that they have on their communities, and which services are most needed in the future.
RW provided a ranking of the top three services under “most essential”, “most desired” and “most positive impact” and provided context on why voters may have chosen these options.
RW further outlined the importance of convenience stores in the research as it relates to Welsh voters and how people use these types of businesses.
RW briefly presented on wider insights on what makes voters feel less safe in communities.
4. Business Representative Panel Reaction
RG asked the different panellists their reaction to the report and their insights on why people use their respective represented businesses.
NS and RT discussed how pharmacies have evolved over time to meet customer needs, the level of trust communities have in pharmacies, and the easing of burden on the NHS. The closing of pharmacies was also highlighted as a concern.
GM discussed the unique ways that post offices support people in communities through the diverse services they offer via access to cash, bill payments, currency exchange, and identity services applications. On support needed for post offices, GM highlighted the need for the business rates system to incentivise investment for post-masters due to issues in the rating system.
RG asked RW about progress of the report over the years and RW highlighted the consistency in response as the main takeaway whereby the main three businesses cited were convenience stores, post offices, and pharmacies were as most appreciated in different ways by voters.
5. Open Floor to MSs and IRC Members
VM praised the positive community impact of convenience stores and the different ways customers use his store. He further discussed his experience as a postmaster including issues relating to retail crime and operational challenges of running his shop.
6. Closing Remarks
RG closed the session by thanking MSs and IRC members.