§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration he has given to indemnifying local authorities which seek to enforce the law on Sunday trading in respect of the perceived risk of damages should they lose the case in the end.
§ Mrs. RumboldIt is for local authorities themselves to determine what of their resources to allocate to enforcing the Sunday trading provisions of the Shops Act 1950 as it is in relation to the whole range of their many other responsibilities under the law. We make a substantial contribution to local authority costs generally through the revenue support grant system, and do not propose to increase this contribution specifically for this enforcement.