Shops can open for up to 24 hours a day in December and January: Jenrick

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced a temporary relaxation in shop opening hours this Christmas and throughout January to help retailers beat the COVID-19 sales slump.

Writing in the Telegraph, Jenrick asked the councils to allow extended hours for shoppers on every high street on weekdays so as to avoid the crowds and follow social distancing.

“How long will be a matter of choice for the shopkeepers and at the discretion of the council, but I suggest we offer these hard-pressed entrepreneurs and businesses the greatest possible flexibility this festive season,” he wrote.

“Therefore as Local Government Secretary I am relaxing planning restrictions and issuing an unambiguous request to councils to allow businesses to welcome us into their glowing stores late into the evening and beyond if wish.”

Jenrick added that the stores and supermarkets will be able to replenish their shelves whenever they wish, with flexible deliveries to keep the streets free for the public.

“These changes remind us that we can and must seek every way to reduce the burden of bureaucracy and free our small businesspeople to get on with earning a living and serving the public,” he wrote.