The UK Government has announced the launch of a new consultation that will examine the feasibility, benefits and drawbacks of a devolution of powers to set Sunday trading hours to local authorities.
Existing laws surrounding Sunday trading were introduced more than 20 years ago and Ministers are keen to examine any change in public attitudes which may have taken place since.
Increased local autonomy would see a slackening of the current restrictive hours of operation and while this would be a welcome move for some, it is something I, and many others, strongly oppose.
I can fully appreciate that there is growing competition for UK high streets from online traders and that it has been difficult for some businesses in recent years, but I am not convinced that extending Sunday trading hours is the solution to these challenges.
I know people lead busy lives, but larger shops are already open for six hours on a Sunday, and some small shops can open and trade for much longer. Surely, this is ample time for people to get what they need and satisfy their craving to spend.
I am not persuaded by arguments that extending Sunday opening hours will promote shopping in town centres. In fact, I think it more likely that any changes to the Sunday trading rules are more likely to encourage consumers to flock to larger out-of-town centres, accelerating the decline on some high streets and creating even more difficulties for smaller independent retailers as they seek to compete with larger operators. The evidence of the past 20 years is that the previous relaxation of Sunday trading rules did not lead to increased spending, it simply spread it out over the longer opening hours.
There are also concerns regarding the potential impact of longer Sunday opening hours on family and social life. Sundays are special; they are different than other days of the week. For many, Sundays provide a space for reflection and rest, and an opportunity for family and friends to come together and spend quality time together. These benefits would be eroded if Sunday were to be treated like any other day of the week by traders and put unfair pressure on the staff who work for them.
It is time to put some boundaries on consumerism. The existing arrangements work well, why change them? I certainly don’t see any evidence that there is significant public demand for change and the successful economies of other nations, such as Germany, do not appear to be suffering from Sunday trading rules which are even more restrictive than our own..
Sunday trading regulations as they stand are a popular compromise. Polling from February 2015 showed that 76% of the public support existing Sunday trading and don’t want to see any change - as the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”