Labour MPs fear for traders as superstores get Olympic hours

Labour MPs from across the region have also warned that low-paid shopworkers with families will suffer when the normal rules preventing large shops from opening for more than a few hours each Sunday are dropped for eight weekends between late July and early September.

The Government says the “unique opportunity” presented by the Olympics means visitors should be allowed to shop at large stores without restrictions on Sundays throughout the period of the Games.

But Yorkshire MPs are demanding to know why the special rules will govern the entire country and not just the capital, fearing the measure is a precursor to a permanent relaxation of the laws.

“If this is not being used as the thin end of the wedge for permanent change, why did the Government not limit the temporary relaxation to the specifically affected area – that is, London?” asked Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn.

The Sunday trading laws were introduced in 1994 and state that shops over 280 square metres in England and Wales are restricted to a total of just six hours of continuous trading between 10am and 6pm on Sundays.

MPs warn it will therefore be the smaller traders who suffer when supermarkets and other large chain stores across the land are allowed to open between 7am and midnight on eight consecutive Sundays from July 22.

“The current Sunday trading legislation has passed the test of time,” said York Central MP Hugh Bayley.

“A good compromise was struck – particularly in giving some Sunday lifeblood to small high-street traders by preventing the bigger shops, particularly the out-of-town shops, from taking business away from them.

“The Olympic Games are extremely important, but they are a festival of sport, not a festival of shopping.”

Ms Munn warned the measure has created “confusion and anger” among shopworkers, who have less than three weeks to tell their employees if they wish to opt out of Sunday shifts.

“Without appropriate safeguards, extended working hours will provide an excuse for employers to move contracted weekday hours to a Sunday,” she said.

“Despite current Sunday opt-out rules, many shop workers are already being forced to spend that time at work. They experience difficulties getting into work on a Sunday... Some also experience a lack of child care, which is especially hard for single parents.

“An extension of trading hours will simply add to the strain.”

But Conservative backbencher Philip Davies, the MP for Shipley, said relaxed trading laws would be a boon for many employees who would appreciate the opportunity to work extra shifts.

“Many people want to work on a Sunday,” Mr Davies said. “Why... deprive people who do want to work of the chance to do so?

“We already have fully liberated hours in Scotland, and the sky does not appear to have fallen in there.”

The Government has repeatedly stated the measure is only temporary and will give the UK an economic boost this summer.

“The Games present a unique opportunity for the whole country to back our athletes, but they also present an important economic opportunity, as hundreds of thousands of visitors come to enjoy what Britain has to offer,” said Business Minister Mark Prisk.

“Alongside the sporting activities, there is a great opportunity for our businesses to make the most of this special occasion.”