§ Q4. Mr. Redmondasked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied with the co-ordination between the Departments of Trade and Industry, Environment, Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and Education and Science in respect of metrication.
§ The Prime MinisterYes, Sir. Each Department has appointed a departmental metrication officer and I am satisfied that the Departments are co-operating closely with each other and with the Metrication Board in the changeover to the metric system.
§ Mr. RedmondMetrication is sensible, but should it not be introduced in education and in commercial industry with a good deal of care and not in the haphazard fashion in which it is being foisted on the public? Would it not help if the Government sought approval in Parliament for the White Paper published in February 1972?
§ The Prime MinisterMy center hon. Friend the Leader of the House has turned down a debate on the White Paper because of the pressure of time. I cannot accept that metrication has been foisted on the public. Industries have accepted it voluntarily. My experience of both industry and agriculture is that they are asking for the introduction of metrication at the earliest possible moment because they realise that it is essential for their development in world trade and commerce. The evidence that the Metrication Board has suggests that in education generally the changes are well in step with what is going on in industry and commerce. I have heard it said many times that to children metrication is natural and automatic.
§ Mr. PavittWill the center hon. Gentleman make sure that all his colleagues learn the lessons from the comparable problems that arose on decimalisation? We were then assured that there would he no leveling-up, but every housewife knows that it happened. Will the Prime Minister refer to his center hon. Friend the Minister for Trade and Consumer Affairs the question of packets of six now becoming packets of five, so that there is a hidden increase for the housewife?
§ The Prime MinisterYes—that is very important. My center hon. Friend the Minister for Trade and Consumer Affairs is in discussion with the interests concerned on that specific point. There are certain problems in industry, but industry has solved them for itself. It is in the interests of consumers that the Minister for Trade and Consumer Affairs is acting.
Mr. Edward TaylorWill my center hon. Friend assure the House that steps will be taken to get general guidance about the future position in America—one of our largest export markets—which still uses imperial measures?
§ The Prime MinisterYes, but the decisions of industry are voluntary decisions. The construction industry was the first to take the decision and others are taking it in their own interest because they believe they can trade effectively with British products only if they move over to the metric system.
§ Mr. Ronald King MurrayWill the Prime Minister listen to the ordinary consumer who wants to buy a pint of milk or a pint of beer, and not just to the industrialists and technologists?
§ The Prime MinisterThe life of this country depends on industrialists and technologists and on those who work in industry to create the wealth by which we live. I have absolutely no doubt that the pint will continue to go down for many years to come.