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evening closing hours is under active consideration by the Home
Secretary and that there is some question of introducing a Bill
under the Ten Minute Rule to deal with half days.
The long awaited Report of the Departmental Committee on
the Law on Sunday Observance (Crathorne Report) Cmd. 2228
was published in December. The report deals with Sunday activities
generally, but most of the report deals with Sunday trading.
The Committee stand by the principle of restriction on Sunday
trading but make certain recommendations to tidy up the anomalies
found to exist in Part IV of the Shops Act 1950.
The Young Persons (Employment) Act 1938
This Act regulates the hours of young persons similarly to
the Shops Act 1950 and deals with occupations in transport and
undertakings, residential hotels and clubs, places of entertainment.
In the last session of Parliament an important new measure
received the Royal Assent known as the Young Persons (Employment)
Act 1964 and its purpose is to extend the kinds of employments
mentioned in the Act of 1938 and to increase the penalties
under this Act. It now regulates the hours of young persons for
example in night clubs, where hitherto there has been no restriction
in law as to their maximum hours or at times when they ought
not to be employed (after 10 p.m. or before 6 a.m.).
It may be said, there is no night life in Romford. Certainly
the place is relatively quiet when all the shops are closed but here
is a new Act which will discourage the employment of young
persons in this kind of establishment should this activity spread
from the larger cities.
Offices, Shops & Railway Premises Act, 1963
This Act provides for the safety and working conditions of
those employed in shop or office and follows closely the provisions
of the Factories Acts. It makes provision for the registration
of premises where persons are employed to work and this was
brought into effect by the Notification of Employment of Persons
Order 1964 which require employers to notify during the period
1st May-31st July 1964 the numbers employed and other relevant
matters. Up to the end of the year 969 premises had been registered
with this authority. This figure, in relation to the number of
premises existing within the Borough, is above the average for
the country. This was brought about by the department
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