Reforming Sunday Trading Laws

Submitted by: Young Liberals
Mover: Cormac Evans
Summation: TBC

Conference notes that:

1. Liberal Democrats support liberalising markets where possible, to maximise the choice and freedoms of consumers and businesses alike.
2. Restrictive trading laws can hinder market forces in achieving their aims, and can be based on outdated social norms, as is the case with Sunday trading laws
3. The trend on trading laws on Sunday has moved from an outright ban, with exceptions, on buying and selling (under the Shops Act 1950), to more open trading hours under the Sunday Trading Act 1994
4. Over the course of the last century, the significance of Sunday as a day of rest has been decreased, with weekends now being used by many in the UK as an opportunity to carry out errands such as shopping, which Sunday trading law reform would support.
5. A liberalised Sunday trading system already exists in Scotland, where a package of bills allows for protection of workers’ rights alongside these liberal trading laws.
6. Sunday trading laws were suspended during the 2012 Olympics, where trading laws were suspended to give opportunities to retailers to ‘cash in’ on the Games.
7. The benefits of liberalising Sunday trading laws were already supported by a 2006 study commissioned for the Department of Trade and Industry.
8. Sunday Trading Laws already exhibit a certain degree of subsidiarity, with powers being given to Scotland to regulate their Sunday trading hours.

Conference reaffirms:

1. Its commitment to a market system that uses regulation to balance business and workers’ rights and freedoms.
2. That businesses and individuals should have the opportunity to decide, to the greatest extent, their operating hours, to promote their competitiveness.
3. Its commitment to devolution and subsidiarity.

Conference calls for:

1. The UK Government to devolve powers over Sunday trading to devolved governments or local authorities as appropriate, empowering communities to regulate their own Sunday trading hours and Sunday trading laws.
2. The UK Government to extend Sunday trading hours as an interim step before the devolution of powers set out above can be implemented.
3. The UK government to couple any reform with appropriate measures to protect workers’ rights ‘ensuring that retail workers can reject requests to work on Sundays with no adverse consequences.
4. Local authorities and devolved governments to liberalise Sunday trading rules in their own areas of responsibility

Applicability: England and Wales.

Motion prior to amendment

Submitted by: Young Liberals
Mover: Cormac Evans
Summation: TBC

Conference notes that:

1. Liberal Democrats support liberalising markets where possible, to maximise the choice and freedoms of consumers and businesses alike.
2. Restrictive trading laws can hinder market forces in achieving their aims, and can be based on outdated social norms, as is the case with Sunday trading laws
3. The trend on trading laws on Sunday has moved from an outright ban, with exceptions, on buying and selling (under the Shops Act 1950), to more open trading hours under the Sunday Trading Act 1994
4. Over the course of the last century, the significance of Sunday as a day of rest has been decreased, with weekends now being used by many in the UK as an opportunity to carry out errands such as shopping, which Sunday trading law reform would support.
5. A liberalised Sunday trading system already exists in Scotland, where a package of bills allows for protection of workers’ rights alongside these liberal trading laws.
6. Sunday trading laws were suspended during the 2012 Olympics, where trading laws were suspended to give opportunities to retailers to ‘cash in’ on the Games.
7. The benefits of liberalising Sunday trading laws were already supported by a 2006 study commissioned for the Department of Trade and Industry.
8. Sunday Trading Laws already exhibit a certain degree of subsidiarity, with powers being given to Scotland to regulate their Sunday trading hours.

Conference reaffirms:

1. Its commitment to a market system that uses regulation to balance business and workers’ rights and freedoms.
2. That businesses and individuals should have the opportunity to decide, to the greatest extent, their operating hours, to promote their competitiveness.
3. Its commitment to devolution and subsidiarity.

Conference calls for:

1. The UK Government to devolve powers over Sunday trading to devolved governments or local authorities as appropriate, empowering communities to regulate their own Sunday trading hours and Sunday trading laws.
2. The UK Government to extend Sunday trading hours as an interim step before the devolution of powers set out above can be implemented.
3. The UK government to couple any reform with appropriate measures to protect workers’ rights.
4. Local authorities and devolved governments to liberalise Sunday trading rules in their own areas of responsibility

Applicability: England and Wales.

Amendments

Amendment One

PASSED

Submitted by: 10 members
Mover: Cllr Simon McGrath
Summation: Brandon Masih

In 3. (line 45), after ‘rights’ insert ‘ensuring that retail workers can reject requests to work on Sundays with no adverse consequences’.

Amendment Two

NOT PASSED

Submitted by: ALDC
Mover: Cllr Darryl Smalley

In 4. (line 46), after ‘to’ insert ‘choose whether to’

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Mover: 7 minutes; summation of motion and movers and summation of any amendments: 4 minutes; all other speakers: 3 minutes. For eligibility and procedure for speaking in this debate, see page 8 of the agenda. 

The deadline for amendments to this motion, see pages 10–11, and for requests for separate votes, see pages 7–8 of the agenda, is 09.00 Thursday 12 September. Those selected for debate will be printed in Conference Extra and Saturday’s Conference Daily.