SNP forces rethink on plan to relax Sunday trading rules
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/nov/10/plan-relax-sunday-trading-rules-shelved-snp Version 0 of 1. The government has shelved proposals to liberalise Sunday trading laws in England and Wales after the SNP announced it would oppose the move. Government sources said plans to introduce the changes in parliament next week through an amendment to the cities and local government devolution bill had been put on hold. Sajid Javid, the business secretary, will now have to broker a deal with the SNP leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, who is demanding that special Sunday premium pay rates given to Scottish workers will be guaranteed and will apply across the UK. Related: Would Osborne really let councils decide on Sunday trading? | Simon Jenkins The government had been facing defeat in the Commons because the SNP’s 55 MPs Westminster, along with Tory rebels, would have helped overcome the government’s 17-strong parliamentary majority. Robertson, who told the Guardian and the BBC on Monday that the SNP would vote against the plans in their current form, welcomed the change of heart by the government. He said: “We are keen to protect workers’ pay in Scotland and the rest of the UK. Given there were no guarantees or safeguards from the government that would protect shop workers’ pay, we were pledged to oppose their plans and they faced defeat in the Commons. “The government now needs to go away and think again about how it can provide the necessary guarantees and safeguards to shop workers … We will oppose anything that puts in doubt the premium payments that often lower-paid shop workers in Scotland have for Sunday working. By doing this we are also working in the interests of shop workers in the rest of the UK. “If plans are to be brought back – and we do not oppose Sunday trading – it has to be with the necessary safeguards and guarantees that there is no detriment to shop workers in Scotland or the rest of the UK.” It is the second time that the SNP, which is the third largest party at Westminster, has forced the government to change tack. In the summer the government withdrew plans to relax the foxhunting ban in England and Wales after the SNP said it would oppose the measure. The new Sunday trading laws are designed to allow town centres to compete with large out-of-town shopping centres by giving mayors the power to regulate Sunday trading in their areas. A consultation, launched in August after George Osborne announced the change in his budget in July, was designed to pave the way for councils to zone areas that would be free from restricted trading hours. Under the current law, shops that cover more than 3,000 sq ft are not allowed to open for more than six hours on a Sunday. Osborne believes that allowing department stores, supermarkets and garden centres to open for longer would rejuvenate high streets. Convenience stores are not subject to the six-hour rule. On Monday night the government indicated some irritation with the SNP. Sources noted that the party was seeking to use the weight of 55 Scottish MPs to try to block the liberalising of Sunday trading laws outside Scotland. The government has recently introduced an English votes for English laws (Evel) measure in parliament to give English MPs a veto over legislation that applies only to England. This also applies to English and Welsh MPs where measures apply to Wales. The new Evel measures do not apply to the bill that was to be used to amend Sunday trading laws because it was introduced to parliament before the new rules on English bills were passed. The SNP has said the new rules do not prevent it from vetoing English-only legislation. |