In Denmark and Sweden it is 7 o'clock in the summer and 6 o'clock in the winter, and in Oslo, Norway's capital, it is 5 o'clock closing in summer and 4 o'clock in the winter. They apparently get more winter than we do here. The Co-operative movement employing 250,000 assistants, always comes well inside the regulations relating to hours issued by the Government and the local authorities. Some co-operative societies are by far the largest retail establishments in some towns, and I have here details of the Newcastle Co-operative Society, a very large establishment, which closes nowadays at 5 o'clock. The argument which is often put forward in the House of Commons, and which we may hear to-night, although I hope not, is, "What will the poor working man do if shops are closed at 6 o'clock?" As a matter of fact, the Co-operative movement is made up in the main of working-class folk who do their shopping without grumbling when the shopping hours are made shorter.

In summing up, I would put these points to the right hon. Gentleman. Can he tell us, first of all, whether he has any idea of what are the results following the issue of his circular in October last as to closing at 6 o'clock, and how many authorities have extended the hour to 7 o'clock? Is he, and is his staff satisfied, that the Shops Acts, especially in relation to the 44 and 48-hour week for young persons, are being implemented, and can he say anything as to the operations of that very august body which was set up some time ago—the Joint Committee of Employers and Employed in the Distributive Trades? If he can say that the legislation in relation to shop hours is being properly implemented by his Department and the local authorities, this Debate will have been worth while.