§ Mr. Alun Michael (Cardiff, South and Penarth)I beg leave to present a petition about Sunday trading. The petition has been signed by the chairman and members of the Penarth Cytyn—that is, the Penarth council of churches—and, in a very short time, by well over 1,300 other people, including all the bishops of the Church in Wales, who say that the decision of the Attorney-General to take no action on illegal Sunday trading has been seen as a licence for the law to be ignored with impunity while putting pressure on law-abiding retailers also to open on Sundays, or to suffer an unfair loss of their market share.
The petition reminds Ministers of their duty to uphold the law, and urges that the law be modernised quickly in a way that deals fairly with employees, their families and with community and commercial interests, based on the REST proposals of the Keep Sunday Special campaign. It therefore calls on the House to require that the law be enforced until such time as it is amended, which the petitioners urge shall be based on the REST proposals.
§ To lie upon the Table.