MPs seek

Sunday trading opt-out
SHOP WORKERS SHOULD be given the opportunity to refuse to work on Sundays if 7-day shopping is allowed in a forthcoming Government bill.
Labour MPs and some churchgoing Conservatives and Liberals are to spearhead efforts to protect the rights area employees not to work on Sundays by pressing a "conscience clause" in the Sunday Trading Bill, expected in Parliament at the end of November.
Labour MP Janet Anderson this week published a paper, Choice on Sunday, in which she favoured a liberalisation of trading laws, but stressed that Sunday shop work must be voluntary and should attract premium pay.
But Anglican Church Commissioners' Commons representative, the Tory MP Michael Alison felt that a conscience clause for workers would not feasible. Christian MPs would concentrate first and foremost on ensuring that Sunday trading vvas not liberalised, he said.
Mr Alison told the Catholic Herald: "The Government has already said that they will safeguard the rights of existing workers. But you simply cannot have people taking on new jobs and then deciding they did not want to work on Sunday."
The Home Office is putting forward four proposals: total deregulation; partial deregulation with large shops opening for six hours; limited opening for shops smaller that 3,000 sq. ft. with larger shops allowed to open only the month before Christmas; and limited opening for only small local shops.
The latter option has been promoted by the Churchbacked Keep Sunday Special Campaign, and would allow small food and convenience stores, garden centres, small DIY and travel-related shops to open.
MPs will be allowed a free vote on which option they prefer, although the planned legislation is likely to come too late to prevent confusion in the lead-up to Christmas for the third year running. Until now, some stores have been able to escape legal action from financially strapped local authorities.
The Bishops' Diaries now appear on Page 10, under 'Gazette'.