So after all the debate and controversy the planned changes to the way shop opening hours on a Sunday are decided will not go ahead at the present. The governments plan to allow local authorities to decide whether to allow larger shops to open for more than six hours on a Sunday were defeated by 317 to 286. For once I was on the losing side. I still think it is bizarre that the votes of the Scottish Nationalists who allow shops to open when they want on Sundays should prevent the government devolving power to local Councils in England and Wales.
Today the main business after transport questions is the remaining stages of the Northern Ireland (Stormont Agreement and Implementation Plan) Bill. This is followed by a debate on whether the record copies of Acts of Parliament should continue to be printed on vellum. The House of Lords thought it would change the centuries old system and change to use archival paper. The crucial point is that apparently even this does not last as long as vellum and we would not have access to historic documents like Magna Carta where hey not recorded on vellum.
David Nuttall 