Devolving Sunday trading rules
Applies to England and Wales
Read the full outcome
Detail of outcome
Government has no plans to take forward reform of Sunday trading at this stage.
We propose to devolve the power to extend Sunday trading hours:
- in England to all unitary and shire district councils
- in Wales to all county and county borough councils
- to the mayors of London and Greater Manchester
- to the mayors established through any future devolution deals, once elected
We will also strengthen the rights of shop workers to ’opt-out‘ of working Sundays, if they choose. These rights will apply in England, Wales and Scotland, whereas the Sunday trading rules apply in England and Wales only.
We will bring forward these measures through amendments to the Enterprise Bill.
Detail of feedback received
We received over 7,000 responses to the consultation. The responses were from a wide range of stakeholders, including:
- retail businesses
- retail trade bodies
- retail parks and shopping centres
- trade unions
- local authorities
- religious groups
We also received a large number of responses from individuals.
Original consultation
Consultation description
Stores with a relevant floor area of over 280 square metres / 3000 square feet (large stores) have restricted opening hours on a Sunday, but smaller stores can open all day.
We’re seeking your views on whether the government should devolve Sunday trading rules to local areas, such as cities run by elected mayors and/or local authorities. This would give them greater control of their local economy and improve the wellbeing of local citizens.
We will not make any changes to the restrictions on trading on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday.
Documents
Updates to this page
Last updated 9 March 2016 + show all updates
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Impact assessment published.
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Added government response.
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First published.