HC Deb 03 December 1906 vol 166 cc597-8
MR. B E R T R A M (Hertfordshire, Hitchin)

I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the grounds upon which he has issued the now Regulation (1) under the Weights and Measures Acts in substitution for the model Regulation (13), issued by the Board of Trade in 1890 for adoption by local authorities; whether he is aware that the new regulation will, by its insistence upon an annual inspection of all weights, measures, and weighing instruments found to be in use for trade at the premises of every trader in the country, deprive the local authorities of all discretion in the matter; whether he has received from any of the county councils communications as to the additional burden which will be cast upon them by the now regulation; and whether he will consider the desirability of withdrawing Clauses 1 and 9 of the new regulations for the present.

THE SECRETARY TO THE BOARD OF TRADE (Mr. KEARLEY, Devonport)

The regulations to which my hon. friend refers are still in draft, and have not yet been issued. As was stated in the Answer to his Question of the 1st November,† Regulation (1), as proposed in the draft, differs from the existing model regulation chiefly in the direction of relaxation, i.e., of allowing visits to be made at longer intervals than a year, in certain circumstances. Representations have been received from certain county councils on this and other matters connected with the Regulations, and the whole subject is still under the consideration of the Departmental Committee.