The Times recently reported that Sunday trading laws will be suspended for a year and cafés and pubs will be given fast-track approval to serve food and drink outside under plans to boost the economy.
They reported that Downing Street is drawing up a package of measures in response to mounting concern that Britain will face mass unemployment as it emerges from the coronavirus lockdown with the government preparing legislation that will enable larger supermarkets to open for more than six hours on Sundays. Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s chief adviser, are said to be in favour of the move, which is also being pushed by Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, and Alok Sharma, the business secretary.
BCC responds to reports on the relaxation of Sunday trading laws
Commenting on plans to relax Sunday trading laws to help businesses trade through the Coronavirus crisis, as reported in The Times, BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
“Businesses need to be given every possible opportunity to start to generate sales again. If there are rules that can be relaxed to give more companies a fighting chance to trade their way through this crisis without compromising safety, ministers should do everything in their power to make it happen.”
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Sources: The Times & The British Chambers of Commerce