SUNDAY TRADING
Sir, Your report “Sunday trading to be extended after SNP ‘deal’ with chancellor” (Feb 29) claims that the temporary suspension of Sunday trading rules for the 2012 Olympics brought a “sales surge” of 3.2 per cent. However, at the time the British Retail Consortium reported no evidence of any Olympic boost to retail sales overall. A more recent study by Oxford Economics concluded that if the change in Sunday trading laws during the Olympics were made permanent it could result in a shift of £870 million of annual sales from convenience stores to large supermarkets, many of which are on out-of-town sites, and a loss of 3,270 retail jobs in England and Wales.
The cost of the proposals will also be social: shopworkers will lose precious family time and face the challenge of finding and paying for childcare all day on Sundays. Although the proposals for extra protections for shopworkers are welcome, I remain unconvinced that these will be effective. The proposals will further disrupt the rhythms of community life that are integral to the common good and the space for shared time and activities that is central to human flourishing.
As a member of the House of Lords I am also deeply concerned that these measures have been introduced in a bill that has already been through the Lords, thus severely restricting opportunity for parliamentary scrutiny and debate.
The Right Rev Dr Alan Smith
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Bishop of St Albans
ROLE OF THE THEATRE IN EXPOSING TRUTH
Sir, Ann Treneman is appalled by Cleansed (“Relentless snuff play is a torture to watch”, review, Feb 24, and opinion, Feb 27). People walked out, she says. Some fainted. It’s not the violence that Ms Treneman doesn’t like, she says: it’s the dreariness. This all sounds horribly familiar. This is what the critics said about Saved in 1965. This is what they said about Ghosts in 1891. It is what they said about King Lear in New York in 1956.
What’s wrong with a bit of fun, she asks. But life, as we have good reason to know in 2016, is very often far from fun. Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of man? Sarah Kane knew, and she told us with pitiless truthfulness. If the National Theatre isn’t for that, what is it for?
Simon Callow
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London N1
CLOSING THE GAP
Sir, An extra hour a day for state schools would make a significant difference not only to academic success but to achievement in sport, music and drama, etc (letters, Feb 29 and Mar 1). The number of hours given to teaching and participation in activities is really where private schools have the advantage, and top state schools such as Mossbourne Academy have emulated this to great advantage in a deprived east London area. The longer day would also greatly benefit working parents.
Judy Heilpern Brown
Stanstead Abbotts, Herts
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NHS TAX BREAK
Sir, In reply to James Edmiston (letter, Mar 1), who suggests a tax break for people who pay for private health insurance, who does he expect to provide emergency medical care if this tax break is implemented? Should he or his family be involved in a road traffic accident, be taken seriously ill or injured at school, doubtless an NHS emergency ambulance would be summoned and the patient treated. This service is unlikely to be provided by his private medical insurance, hence the reason for paying taxes that contribute to the NHS.
Andrew Ware
Plymouth, Devon
CLASH OF THE TITANS
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Sir, One way to reduce the incidence of concussion in rugby union (Mar 1) would be for each side to comprise 13 rather than 15 players — ie, no flankers. There would be four fewer players subject to harmful contact, fewer problems with the scrum, and the game would be more open and less attritional. In short, rugby would become less defence-dominated and would allow for greater flair and creativity — elements so lacking in the modern professional game.
B Roberts
Ruthin, Denbighshire
EUROPEAN MAGPIES
Sir, Further to Bruce Parker’s helpful reminder of the use of “Inner” and “Outer” in rifle-shooting terminology (letter, Mar 1), perhaps those of us who are still poised between the two target rings should be referred to as “magpies” — in shooting jargon, neither an Inner nor an Outer.
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Malcolm Penny
Acton Green, Herefordshire