History
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, before 1994 only small shops were allowed to open on Sunday, with large stores forced to remain shut. There were many rules at the time, which resulted in perceived idiosyncracies such as the legal ability to buy a pornographic magazine but not a Bible or birthday card on a Sunday. Strict observance of Sabbath was declining, and other religions celebrated different Sabbath days or none. However, some Christians set up letter-writing campaigns.
Trade unions and employers gave assurances that no worker would be forced to work on Sundays and surveys showed that even among Christians, many shopped on a Sunday so it was passed into law for a limited time. Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, large shops are allowed to open for up to six hours on a Sunday between 10am and 6pm. The UK Department of Trade and Industry conducted a review of the Act in early 2006 to consider whether to extend opening hours to 9 hours or to remove restrictions entirely. "Large" means having a retail area of 3,000 square feet (280 m2) or more.
Keep Sunday Special believes that this move would have a damaging effect on families, communities and local economies. In this respect they stand alongside organisations like the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) who launched a Save our Sundays campaign, the Relationships Foundation, Working Families and nearly 300 MPs signed an Early Day Motion. On 6 July 2006, the then Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, confirmed that having considered all the evidence from the review, the Government concluded there should be no change to the Sunday trading laws. The news was welcomed by trade unions and small shops who were afraid large stores would undercut their prices and were opposed any change in the law.
Under the Sunday Trading Act 1994, large shops (that is, those with a retail floor area of more than 3,000 square feet (280 m2) may open only for six continuous hours.
Read more about this topic: Keep Sunday Special
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