Clwyd West AM Darren Millar has welcomed news that Conwy County Council will be introducing a temporary change to the Sunday trading enforcement regime amid the Covid-19 pandemic to help NHS staff and other key workers.
Currently some supermarkets are allowing doctors, nurses and all other essential workers into their stores to shop from 9am on a Sunday, before they open to the public at 10am. However, while the early shoppers can gather their supplies whilst shelves are well stocked and there are no crowds, due to existing trading laws they are unable to pay for their goods until 10am.
Earlier this week, Darren wrote to the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, calling for this restriction to be lifted during the coronavirus pandemic.
Conwy County Borough Council Leader Cllr Sam Rowlands has now contacted Darren to inform him that they will not be waiting for the Welsh Government, and the changes will be allowed with immediate effect.
Darren said:
“This is great news and will be a big help to our hard working NHS staff and other key workers during these challenging times.
“We are living in extraordinary times at present which require fast decisions to accommodate changing demands and I would like to thank Cllr Rowlands and the Council’s Chief Executive, Iwan Davies, for listening to my calls and acting on them so swiftly.”
Leader of the Council, Cllr Rowlands, added:
“Our NHS, Social Care staff and other key workers are doing exceptional work amid this crisis and face further challenging times in the weeks ahead, it is only right therefore that we do everything we possibly can to make their lives easier during this period.
“We won’t be enforcing Sunday trading restrictions for the duration of the crisis so this will give retailers the choice to be flexible with their opening hours to meet the needs of those battling the virus on the frontlines."