Schedule - General enforcement provisions
Christmas Day (Trading) Bill
10:30 am

Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody (Crewe and Nantwich, Labour)

Seldom, Mr. Illsley, have I enjoyed such expeditious, efficient and superb chairmanship. I should be wrong not to pay tribute to your work in that capacity. I also put on record my appreciation of all who have helped with the Bill, especially the Clerks, the other servants of the House and all those who care greatly about the matter. The Bill will be important to a lot of people; I receive many letters from women who are asked to work on Christmas day at short notice. We might think that because Bills such as this are processed in a short and formalistic way they do not encompass the problems of people's lives, but they do. I am grateful to the Home Office, not so much for its neutrality but for the fact that it has put into legal language those things that we might otherwise have got wrong.

Reverend Martin Smyth (Belfast South, UUP)

I appreciate the opportunity to pay tribute to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) for her work in presenting the Bill. It is important. I understand the use of the word ``Sabbath'', as I come from that part of the Christian Church that still talks about the Sabbath. However, I remember that, with a touch of humour, I once told a congregation that, as Presbyterians, we had moved a long way from the days when we did not keep Christmas day because it was not a Sabbath, to the days when we do not keep the Sabbath because it is Christmas day. Bearing in mind the pressures on families, it is important that we protect the family atmosphere, rather than allowing everything to be dictated by large traders. I congratulate the hon. Lady on bringing the Bill before us, and the Home Office for its expeditious help.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill, as amended, to be reported.

Committee rose at twenty-three minutes to Eleven o'clock.