Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been told to abolish Sunday Trading Laws this October as part of his first Budget with new Chancellor John Healey.
Ahead of the Budget on October 28, business groups and key organisations were invited to make submissions to the government about key changes the Prime Minister should look to implement to boost the economy and stimulate growth.
London Chamber's call
Among the submissions, the London Chamber of Commerce has urged Mr Burnham to scrap the law which currently only allows large retailers in England to open for six hours on Sundays. Under the current law, any retailer larger than 280 square metres cannot open for more than six hours if they are in England or Wales. It means most retailers, such as large supermarkets, homeware and department stores, only open from 10am to 4pm.
Scotland, however, has its own laws and Sunday Trading Laws do not apply north of the border. The London Chamber of Commerce is pressing for a change in the laws for England, citing the 'specific impact' the 'relic of law' has on the capital.
Competing with global capitals
It stresses that Sunday is 'one of the most commercially valuable days of the week' and that London needs to compete with international capitals such as Paris, Milan and Dubai, which have no such restrictions on trading hours.
The London Chamber of Commerce says: "Abolish Sunday Trading Laws: The current rules restricting large stores to six hours of trading on a Sunday, which Margaret Thatcher first attempted to abolish in 1986, are a relic of a different era of retail and a different pattern of life.
"They have a specific impact on London as the capital, where seven-day footfall, tourism and shift-working households make Sunday one of the most commercially valuable days of the week. London's major shopping districts compete with Paris, Milan and Dubai for international visitor spend, and asking them to close at 5pm on a Sunday is a self-imposed restriction.
"No shopping hub in Dubai closes at 5pm on a Sunday. Businesses know their own footfall and levels of demand best. Allowing retailers and shopping hubs to decide when they should trade is a growth lever that can be pulled at zero cost to the Exchequer."
VAT-free shopping and other asks
As part of the document, it also urged Mr Burnham to reintroduce VAT-free shopping, which was axed in 2020. It added: "Ending tax-free shopping in 2020 handed a direct competitive advantage to Paris, Milan and Madrid, where an international visitor can reclaim VAT on a purchase that costs them a fifth more in London. The result is not that visitors stop spending, but that they spend elsewhere, taking with them the hotel nights, restaurant covers and wider tourism economy that high-value shopping trips anchor.
"The lost VAT was never the whole cost; the displaced spending across the visitor economy is the larger, unseen one. Restoring the scheme would help bring that spending back to London's streets."
The Chamber also urged Mr Burnham to renegotiate a new deal with the EU, back the third runway at Heathrow and designate the areas along the Elizabeth and Jubilee lines of London an 'AI investment zone'.
Mr Burnham and Mr Healey will make their first Budget speech to Parliament on Wednesday, October 14. Among the items already confirmed to be on the agenda are the Cash ISA cut, the tax exemption for state pensioners and the details of the triple lock changes.
