Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 10 December 1931.
Shops are required by the Shops Act, 1912, to close for a weekly half-holiday, but an exemption is provided for the sale of medicines and medical and surgical appliances, and I understand that, though there has been no legal decision, the chemists in Central London treat toothbrushes as covered by this exemption. Wherever there is legislation dealing with such a matter as a weekly half-holiday for shops, some special exceptions must be permitted, and wherever there are exceptions there must be border-line cases. Any amending legislation would involve either the sur- render of the half-holiday or else borderline cases of a different character but presenting similar anomalies.