ACS has called on MPs to reject an amendment tabled in the Enterprise Bill on Sunday Trading that will damage the economy and devastate small shops.
The Department for Business published its response to The consultation this morning, summarising over 7,000 responses in what amounts to a 12-page advocacy document for liberalisation.
In the official Department for Business press release on Sunday Trading, also published this morning, the Government justifies its decision to devolve Sunday trading hours to local authorities by citing a 5% rise in turnover as a result of liberalisation in Sweden. However, the figures they question are from 1972 to 1989.
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “The Government is attempting to hoodwink the rest of Parliament into accepting these proposals by publishing only the parts of the consultation response that suit its agenda. The voice of thousands of businesses, communities, shop workers and other organisations has been ignored. For the Government to use figures from the 1970s to justify its decision on Sunday Trading is frankly embarrassing. Parliament must reject this amendment being snuck into the late stages of the Enterprise Bill.”
“The Government’s message on Sunday trading has become so confused that it is barely recognisable. They claim that Sunday trading rules need to change to meet the needs of modern consumers, and yet quote decades old figures. They claim that Sunday trading changes will help high streets compete with online retail, but not one consumer or company polled this year has claimed that Sunday trading hours are a factor in the popularity of online shopping. They claim that this is what people want, despite several surveys showing that the majority of the public like the rules just the way they are. These ill thought out, badly executed and potentially devastating plans must be dropped.”
The full response to the Sunday trading consultation can be found on the Department for Business website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/devolving-sunday-trading-rules
