§ Mr. Kirbyasked the Home Secretary whether he will take steps to ensure that shopkeepers who now open their shops for an hour or so each day are made to open for a more reasonable length of time each day so as to reduce queues in number, prevent undue congestion on footwalks and facilitate shopping by the general public, a large percentage of whom are engaged on war work during the greater portion, or all, of the shopping hours?
§ Mr. PeakeThe information before the Home Office does not support the suggestion that shopkeepers are causing unnecessary inconvenience to the public by compressing their trades into unreasonably short periods; but the Home Secretary is in constant touch with the Minister of Labour on the making of suitable local arrangements to meet shopping difficulties experienced in any district by industrial workers, and if my hon. Friend will send me particulars of the cases which he has in mind, inquiry shall be made.