§ 6. Miss Burtonasked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to make compulsory the adoption of standards of the British Standards Institution by manufacturers.
§ Mr. P. ThorneycroftNo, Sir.
§ Miss BurtonDoes the right hon. Gentleman believe that the voluntary adoption of standards is sufficient safeguard for the consumer? Will he look at the matter again?
Mr. ThorneycrottThe whole of the operations of the British Standards Institution have been on the basis of voluntary co-operation between that Institution and industry. That system has been working very satisfactorily, as hon. Members on all sides of the House know, in the engineering industry for some 50 years. It started on the consumer side much more recently. I have every hope that it will develop in a satisfactory manner there.
§ Mr. G. R. StraussWhile agreeing with that reply, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that the real difficulty is that of the enormously long delays which take place between when the idea of formulating a standard is thought of and when the standard is finally agreed? That period is usually at least two years and I cannot believe that such a delay is really essential.
§ Mr. ThorneycroftIt is true that it often takes a considerable time before a standard can be agreed. On the other hand, I would much rather that a little time was spent and a good standard arrived at than that a decision should be rushed into or that anyone should seek to enforce a standard otherwise than by voluntary agreement.