The Government believes that the current Sunday trading rules - which were established over 20 years ago - have not kept pace with the current consumer environment. People can, of course, already shop on Sunday on the internet and I think that it is time to modernise our approach, give families more choice and help create jobs at the same time.
Devolving Sunday trading rules would give local leaders the power to extend Sunday trading hours within their area or within specific parts of their area, such as shopping centres, town centres, or on particular high streets. If there was local demand and agreement, a local leader could therefore, choose to allow longer Sunday trading in those specific localities where they want to grow their economy or attract more family shoppers. There would, of course, be no requirement to allow longer opening hours for larger stores in any area - that decision would be made locally.
I understand that there are strong feelings on both sides of the debate and opinion can be divided on this issue. While extended hours may not be right for all communities, I believe local decision makers are best placed to judge this. I would therefore hope that all those who have an important stake in Sunday trading, including church groups, workers groups and small businesses would be included in the debate at the local level.