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Bira cautiously welcomes new crime and policing bill to tackle retail crime across high street businesses

26 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has cautiously welcomed Labour's Crime and Policing Bill but is calling for urgent action and immediate funding to address the surge in retail crime affecting independent... Read more…

Bira warns of 'troubled times ahead' despite interest rate cut

7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for... Read more…

Free webinar exclusive to ACT members on employment law compliance

4 Feb 2025

The ACT and legal partner WorkNest are hosting an exclusive webinar on how to remain compliant with employment law while making necessary business changes.
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ACT parent company Bira urges Government action as December sales disappoint

23 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira is calling for urgent government intervention following disappointing December retail figures, which show sales volumes fell by 0.3% following a modest 0.1% rise in... Read more…

ACT announces new partnership with legal specialists WorkNest

17 Jan 2025

The ACT has teamed up with employment law, HR, and health and safety experts WorkNest as the association's new legal partner.
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Bira comments after BRC release Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor Report for December

9 Jan 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that disappointing footfall figures for December show mounting pressures on independent retailers, with concerning implications for 2025 as business costs... Read more…

2024 year in review: A message from ACT Director Jonathan Harrison

18 Dec 2024

Director of the ACT Jonathan Harrison has praised the "resilience and adaptability" of the ACT and its members in an end of year message.
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Practical steps to prevent credit card and payment fraud as an independent cycling retailer

4 Dec 2024

As credit card fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, taking these steps could help you stay ahead of the fraudsters…
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Scottish retailers call for urgent business rates support as gap widens with rest of UK

29 Nov 2024

Scottish independent retailers, including those in the cycling sector, are urging the Scottish Government to provide crucial business rates relief in its upcoming budget, as the disparity in... Read more…

Bira and ACT welcome new House of Lords report on high street regeneration

28 Nov 2024

Independent retailers back call for local leadership and simplified funding.
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Write to your MP on Sunday trading

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

The Government is currently considering relaxing the Sunday Trading regulations. This is not a popular measure with consumers, shopworkers, or retailers.

Key Stats

  • 58% of consumers support the existing Sunday Trading regulations, compared to 21% who do not support the regulations (Populus, May 2020)
  • 91% of shopworkers in large stores do not want longer trading hours on Sundays (USDAW, September 2015)
  • Over the course of a year, displacement could cost the convenience sector up to £69m in lost profits and 6,770 jobs. (Oxford Economics/ACS - 2015)

Get Involved

The campaign to prevent the relaxed Sunday Trading regulations was initiated by Independent Retailers Confederation (IRC) member ACS. The IRC is in support of the campaign and urges small businesses and high street retailers to get involved where possible by sending a letter or email to your local MP; a template letter has been drafted up that all retail workers can use that is available here.

You can also show your support for the Keep Sunday Special campaign on Twitter by adding a 'Twibbon' to your profile picture here.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: "The majority of the public are in favour of the existing Sunday Trading regulations, which strike the right balance between the needs of shopworkers, consumers, high streets, small shops and supermarkets. Changing the current laws would serve only to displace trade from the local shops that have been keeping communities going during this pandemic. If anything, local shops and other retailers have been reducing the number of opening hours in their business to keep their staff safe whilst restocking and cleaning stores, and we expect non-essential retailers to operate with limited hours when they re-open later this month."

"There are many measures that have been recommended through high street reviews and task forces in recent years that could support the recovery of high street businesses, but at no point has a change to Sunday Trading regulations been considered and with good reason. To upset the balance that has been struck on opening hours on Sundays would put small shops at risk, with increased costs but no guaranteed benefits for their larger counterparts."

 

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