ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES. Clause. 1. Closing hours. 2. Exemption for owner of shop. 3. Special provisions as to confectionery. 4. Special provisions as to tobacco and smokers' requisites. 5. Saving as to closing orders. 6. Power to grant exemption in respect of exhibitions. 7. Special provisions as to holiday resorts. 8. Power to suspend operation of Act and closing orders on special occasions. 9. Offences. 10. Consequential and minor amendments of 2 Geo. 5. c. 3. 11. Short title, citation, construction, extent and repeal. SCHEDULES. BILL ΤΟ Amend the law relating to the closing of shops; BE E it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, 5 as follows :— A.D. 1928. 1.-(1) Every shop shall, save as otherwise provided Closing by this Act, be closed for the serving of customers not hours. later than nine o'clock in the evening on one day in the week (in this Act referred to as "the late day"), and 10 not later than eight o'clock in the evening on any other day in the week, and those hours are in this Act referred to as the "general closing hours.' (2) The late day shall be Saturday unless the local authority by order fix some other day as the late day, 15 and any such order may fix the same day for all shops, or may fix 20 (a) different days for different classes of shops; or or (c) different days for different periods of the year: Provided that where the local authority have under the Shops Act, 1912 (hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act), fixed any day as the weekly half-holiday for any class of shop, or for any part of their district, or A.D. 1928. for any period of the year, they shall, as respects that class, part, or period, fix some other day as the late day. Exemption (3) Nothing in this section or in any closing order made under the principal Act shall prevent (a) the serving of a customer where it is proved 5 that the customer was in the shop before the closing hour, or that reasonable grounds existed for believing that the article supplied after the closing hour to a customer was required in the case of illness; or (b) any transaction mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act. 10 2. Any shop may be kept open during the general for owner of closing hours if no person other than the owner of the shop is employed or engaged in or about the business 15 of the shop during those hours. shop. Special pro confec tionery. 3. Subject as hereinafter provided, as respects the visions as to trade or business of selling table waters, sweets, chocolates, or other sugar confectionery or ice cream, the general closing hours shall be ten o'clock in the evening 20 on the late day and half-past nine o'clock in the evening on any other day: Provided that a local authority may, in their area or in any part thereof, by order substitute for either of the general closing hours herein before in this section 25 mentioned an earlier hour, not being earlier than eight o'clock in the evening, if they are satisfied that such an order is desired by the occupiers of a majority of the shops to be affected by the order. Special pro- 4. As respects the trade or business of selling tobacco 30 visions as to and smokers' requisites, a local authority may, in their tobacco and area or in any part thereof, by order substitute for the smokers' general closing hours fixed by this Act later hours, not requisites. Saving as to closing orders. being later than ten o'clock in the evening on the late 5. Save as in this Act otherwise expressly provided, nothing in this Act shall affect the power of a local 40 authority by a closing order made and confirmed in manner provided by the principal Act to fix, subject A.D. 1928. to the limits imposed by that Act, closing hours earlier than the general closing hours fixed by or under the provisions of this Act. of exhibi 5 6.-(1) As respects any retail trade or business Power to carried on at an exhibition or show within the area grant exof a county council, the county council may by order emption in substitute for the general closing hours fixed by or under respect this Act, or for any closing hour fixed by a closing order tions. 10 made under the principal Act, later hours, not being later than ten o'clock in the evening, if they are satisfied that the retail trade or business so carried on is subsidiary or ancillary only to the main purpose of the exhibition or show. 15 (2) In this section the expression "county council" means as respects a county borough the council of the county borough. (3) As respects any exhibition or show within the city of London, the powers conferred by this section shall 20 be exercised by the common council. (4) Any order under this section shall be made subject to such conditions as the county council or the common council, as the case may be, may consider necessary for securing that shop assistants affected by 25 the order shall not be employed in or about the retail trade or business to which the order relates for more than such number of hours as may be specified by the order. (5) Where the powers conferred by this section are 30 exercised by any council in any area for which the council is not the local authority within the meaning of the principal Act, the provisions of that Act relating to proof and revocation of orders and to enforcement shall, as respects orders made under this section, and as respects 35 the enforcement of the provisions of the principal Act in the case of any retail trade or business to which such orders for the time being apply, have effect as if the council were, in that area, the local authority for the purposes of that Act. 40 7.-(1) In places frequented as holiday resorts Special produring certain seasons of the year, and in places where visions as sea fishing is principally carried on during certain seasons to holiday |