It would have come as no surprise to those in the small shops sector to have heard senior Tory MP calls over the weekend to make the temporary extension to Sunday Trading permanent.
The government announced plans earlier this year to allow shops in England and Wales over 3,000 sq ft to open for more than six hours between 24 July and 9 September during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Four Sundays in, and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles suggested the government would look closely at the impact on retail during the trial.
“I’m always keen that we respect peoples’ religious beliefs. But I think we should kind of look long and hard at the results,” he said.
The Association of Convenience Stores saw comments like this coming. It warned back in May that relaxing existing laws could lead to a permanent change in the law or make it easier for similar temporary changes to be made.
And back in March, The Grocer revealed some retailers could push for special dispensation to remain open for longer on 23 December - the Sunday before Christmas.
But opponents of Sunday trading shouldn’t be unduly worried at this stage. The Olympic relaxation will disappear from the statute books at the end of the eight weeks and any permanent change will require a full act of parliament and all the lengthy consultation that goes with it.
As for a temporary Christmas fix - this would have to been done by a separate piece of emergency legislation - and assuming that Pickles long and hard look is exactly that - then there won’t be time to put it in place this side of the holidays.
The next time the key trading day, 23 December, falls on a Sunday will not be for another six years and the retail environment could have a very different look by then anyway.
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