This is a text-only version of an article first published on Tuesday, 7 July 2015. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
THE Church has responded to George Osborne's proposals that could see shops able to open for longer hours on Sundays.
The plans, which are part of the 2015 budget, will give local authorities the power to decide how long shops can trade for on Sundays.
Read the full story here. A spokesman from Church House, Westminster, said: "The Church of England has always maintained that a common day of rest is important for family life, for community life and for personal well-being.
Increased Sunday trading will inevitably lead to further erosion of shared leisure time when a majority of people can count on being able to do things together.
It will have an impact on community activities of many kinds, amateur sport, contact across extended families and religious observance.
It seems quite contrary to the objectives of the Big Society, which once helped to shape policy and which the Church of England enthusiastically supported.
Any further erosion of shared community life, whether that is driven by central or local government, will be detrimental to all of us."Bishop Colin added: "Clearly we await with interest to see what the Chancellor is actually proposing but it would be very sad for many people if Sundays were to become just like every other day of the week in terms of shopping.
Even with the current levels of shop-opening there is something different about Sundays for most people - and certainly for most families - with its change of pace and we would be unwise as a society to encourage that to disappear."