The Government is undertaking a review of the Sunday Trading legislation. The review aims to deal with the concerns of larger high street retailers, who are concerned that they cannot compete effectively with online retailers unless they are open seven days a week at normal opening hours.
The Government is consulting on plans to give local areas the power to allow large shops to open for longer on Sundays.
The reforms would give metro mayors and local authorities the power to determine Sunday trading rules that reflect the needs of local people and allow shops and high streets to stay open longer and compete with online retailers.
Local authorities would have the discretion to zone which part of their local authority area would benefit from the longer hours, allowing them to boost town centres and high streets.
The existing Sunday trading laws were introduced more than 20 years ago before high-street shops faced competition from online retailers. The law currently prevents large stores from opening for more than 6 hours. Small shops covering less than 3,000 sq ft can open all day.
The Government is committed to giving the UK’s major cities the power to compete for international tourism while increasing consumer choice. Paris has recently extended Sunday trading opening hours in areas of international tourism, and Dubai and New York shops open into the evening 7 days a week.
