New Report Further Undermines Case for Sunday Trading Liberalisation
16 May 2006
Less than a week after the Government unveiled its cost-benefit analysis of liberalisation of Sunday trading laws, a new report has uncovered a host of flaws which undermine its conclusion that an end to Sunday trading restrictions would bring economic benefits.
A report by the independent agency Europe Economics has shown that the Government’s cost-benefit analysis, compiled by Indepen, is built on a number of unlikely assumptions, uses poor evidence to support its assertions, and in any case finds only a trivial level of benefit to consumers as a result of liberalising our Sunday trading laws. These benefits would quickly be outweighed by the social costs of changing the present laws – which were totally disregarded in the report.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) commissioned the report by Europe Economics, and Chief Executive David Rae commented: “If the Government was planning to press ahead with liberalising Sunday trading laws on the basis of this report, we would urge them to think again. Our brief to Europe Economics was to assess the cost-benefit analysis critically but objectively, and serious flaws have been uncovered which undermine the validity of the analysis.
“The Indepen report did not properly assess the impact of changes in Sunday trading laws on the small store sector, nor did it assess the social consequences of local shops closing down. Our own research shows that if the present restrictions on large stores trading on a Sunday were lifted, independent stores would find the impact devastating. Furthermore, there is a growing weight of consumer research showing that people do not wish to see changes to the Sunday Trading Act.
“Our publication of our own independent analysis of the report comes at a time when Parliament is sending a very clear message to the DTI. Over 260 MPs have now signed an EDM opposing liberalisation of Sunday trading hours, and polling of MPs shows that a majority oppose changes to this legislation.
“We have of course sent a copy of the report to the Minister responsible for this policy, Ian McCartney. We would urge retailers who oppose changes to Sunday trading law to make their voices heard now. If the sector speaks up, we can prevent the Government from going ahead with these proposed changes against the will of the public, of Parliament, and of the majority of the retail community.”
The Government is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to proceed with changes to the Sunday Trading Act. This follows a consultation and the completion of the Indepen report.
A report by the independent agency Europe Economics has shown that the Government’s cost-benefit analysis, compiled by Indepen, is built on a number of unlikely assumptions, uses poor evidence to support its assertions, and in any case finds only a trivial level of benefit to consumers as a result of liberalising our Sunday trading laws. These benefits would quickly be outweighed by the social costs of changing the present laws – which were totally disregarded in the report.
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) commissioned the report by Europe Economics, and Chief Executive David Rae commented: “If the Government was planning to press ahead with liberalising Sunday trading laws on the basis of this report, we would urge them to think again. Our brief to Europe Economics was to assess the cost-benefit analysis critically but objectively, and serious flaws have been uncovered which undermine the validity of the analysis.
“The Indepen report did not properly assess the impact of changes in Sunday trading laws on the small store sector, nor did it assess the social consequences of local shops closing down. Our own research shows that if the present restrictions on large stores trading on a Sunday were lifted, independent stores would find the impact devastating. Furthermore, there is a growing weight of consumer research showing that people do not wish to see changes to the Sunday Trading Act.
“Our publication of our own independent analysis of the report comes at a time when Parliament is sending a very clear message to the DTI. Over 260 MPs have now signed an EDM opposing liberalisation of Sunday trading hours, and polling of MPs shows that a majority oppose changes to this legislation.
“We have of course sent a copy of the report to the Minister responsible for this policy, Ian McCartney. We would urge retailers who oppose changes to Sunday trading law to make their voices heard now. If the sector speaks up, we can prevent the Government from going ahead with these proposed changes against the will of the public, of Parliament, and of the majority of the retail community.”
The Government is expected to decide in the next few weeks whether to proceed with changes to the Sunday Trading Act. This follows a consultation and the completion of the Indepen report.