The report, which is being presented to Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs Minister Gerry Sutcliffe, says the Prime Minister promised the nation ‘joined-up Government’ but that the DTI enquiry has been anything but that.
The cross-party group, chaired by Lord Anderson with Ann Widdecombe MP, Colin Breed MP, Andy Reed MP and Gary Streeter MP, found that to ignore the social effects of extending Sunday working was to overlook the implications for at least five other Government Departments, and the devolved administration in Wales.
In their report, Panel members say that the DTI has so far failed to pay sufficient attention to the impact that extended Sunday work could have on parents and the time they have with their children, on juvenile anti-social behaviour and the resultant increase in expenditure by local authorities and the effects of a poor work-life balance on health.
Lord Anderson says ‘It is our view that to leave these factors out of consideration was an oversight that urgently needs to be corrected before any decision on extending the hours of Sunday work and trading is made.’
‘From the evidence that has been submitted to us, at least 70% of the public do not want any more hours for Sunday shopping. Equally, the evidence tells us that a large majority of those working in the retail sector do not want to work longer hours on Sunday.’
Andy Reed, says ‘We are deeply concerned about the likely effects of extending Sunday trading on children and their parents. The evidence submitted to us comes from an impressively wide range of organisations and from people with real experience and understanding of the difficulties of balancing parenting responsibilities with employment.’
‘It would be quite wrong for the Government to adopt a one-eyed approach, and wholly right for them, consistent with other policies and concerns, to be very wary about extending Sunday trading laws’ he says.
The Panel recommends that any decision on easing Sunday trading restrictions should be deferred until after the Competition Commission has completed its enquiry into the supermarket sector.
Editors Note: The work of analysing and summarising the evidence has been undertaken by a Secretariat, provided by Relationships Foundation. Copies of the panel’s report ‘Whose Convenience? An Enquiry into the Social Effects of Extending Weekend Working and Sunday Trading are available here.
Lord Anderson will be available for interview between 11 – 3pm on Wednesday 29 March, 2006. Andy Reed MP will be available for interview between 1 – 4pm on Wednesday 29 March, 2006.