Mr. Edward Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what benefits would accrue to the aircraft industry in Great Britain if it adopted the metric system of measurement for all its design and production work; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the industry of such a change in practice.
§ Mr. OnslowIn the aircraft industry as elsewhere dual working in imperial and metric entails substantial extra costs and it is therefore to be hoped that the progress of metrication in the United States will enable the changeover to metric to be completed.
For the reasons set out in the White Paper, Cmnd. 4880, it is not practicable to assess in monetary terms either the costs or the benefits of metrication, but it is evident that valuable economies will be achieved throughout manufacturing industry.