Moves to allow round-the-clock Sunday shopping by supermarkets and other major stores are expected to be announced by George Osborne in tomorrow (8 July)'s Budget.
It is expected to be the biggest shake-up of Sunday trading laws for 20 years, and some have predicted that it will lead to a significant economic boost.
Under current legislation larger retailers in England and Wales are only allowed to trade for six hours between 10am and 6pm on Sundays, although shops with less than 3,000sq ft of floor space can open all day.
The law was relaxed for eight weekends during the summer of the 2012 London Olympics, leading to a large rise in sales.
Osborne is expected to announce that decisions over trading hours are to be devolved to councils and elected mayors, enabling them to allow shops to open longer if they think it will benefit the local economy.
The moves, which will go out to consultation, are expected to be included in an Enterprise Bill later this year. They do not apply to Scotland, where trading laws are devolved to Holyrood.
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