Government refuses to publish Sunday trading responses

The Government has said that it won’t publish responses to its Sunday trading consultation, as doing so would lead to too much “disruption to the Department’s mainstream activities”.

Responding to a Freedom of Information request from campaign group Keep Sunday Special, the Department for Business has refused to publish details of how many people responded asking for existing Sunday Trading rules to be maintained.

In a written response to Keep Sunday Special, the Government said that releasing all of the responses they have received would lead to a “disproportionate level of disruption to the Department’s mainstream activities” if they were forced to comply.

The refusal to release the information follows news this weekend that a number of Conservative MPs were threatening to quit the party if the laws are forced through.

The proposals will be debated on Wednesday, March 9.

See how the convenience industry lobbied parliament last week here.