Sunday Trading Hours - Consultation Launch

Following George Osborne’s announcement in the July Budget the Government has today launched their consultation regarding Sunday trading hours.

The consultation is not whether the restrictions limiting the Sunday trading hours for premises over 280m² which were introduced in 1994 should be abolished, the Government is clearly committed to this.  The consultation is about whether the power to relax these restrictions should be devolved to local authorities generally across England and Wales or to metro mayors, through ‘devolution deals’.  The final decision on whether to relax the restrictions will be taken locally, consistent with the Government’s stated focus on localism.

The Government supports the removal of Sunday trading restrictions however recognises ‘there are strong and diverse views as to whether removing Sunday trading restrictions is the right thing to do’.  The consultation focuses on the mechanics of devolving the powers to allow communities to make the final decision; it appears clear that the removal of Sunday restrictions will be permitted in due course.  The relaxation will not apply to Easter Sunday or Christmas Day.

The Government sets out their views and invites responses through their consultation  document which can be found here.

The closing date for the consultation is 16^th September 2015.