Mr. Baker Whiteasked the President of the Board of Trade when he will make public the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into Weights and Measures; and indicate what action he proposes to take on the recommendations of the Report.
§ Sir H. ShawcrossThe Report will be published tomorrow and copies will be available in the House. Before dealing with the second part of the Question, I should like to pay a tribute to the very long and detailed labours of this Committee over more than two years and to the value of the Report which they have produced, which is the first comprehensive survey of this important field of legislation for more than 80 years.
Turning to the recommendations, I should say, first of all, that there are a few among them which the Government certainly cannot accept, at least for immediate implementation. No 2, which proposes that the Government should take steps towards the eventual complete adoption of the metric system in this country, clearly raises most important issues which could not be determined without lengthy and most serious consideration. This will be given to it as time permits and views will be sought from the Governments of other countries, particularly the Commonwealth and United States, which use the Imperial system. In the meantime, the Government cannot be regarded as in any way 241W committed to accepting this recommendation. The same consideration must apply to recommendation No. 3 about basing the Imperial system on the international metre and kilogramme. Nor should I wish to be regarded as committed in principle to the proposal in recommendation No. 43 that the administration of weights and measures should be concentrated in the hands of the larger Local Authorities.
There is a second small group of recommendations, on which I should not propose to take early action because either they would involve additional demands on manpower in the Board of Trade or in local authorities, or they would cause a certain amount of controversy owing to the changes in commercial practice which they would involve. Among these I would class Nos. 4–6 about an expert commission on weights and measures; No. 33, proposing the extension of weights and measures control to fresh fruit and vegetables; the second half of No. 40, proposing its extension to rail and canal deliveries of coal; No. 42, proposing the extension of control in general to wholesale transactions; and No. 44, proposing increased powers of supervision by the Board of Trade over the administration of the Act by the local authorities. These proposals will, therefore, be looked at further in consultation with the appropriate interested parties. Subject to the results of such consideration any necessary legislation will be considered at a later date. It will probably be necessary to postpone also the consolidation of the law proposed in recommendation No. 1
Otherwise, the majority of the recommendations do not appear to raise controversial issues. In some cases, the Board of Trade already possesses the necessary powers and the changes in practice involved will be put in hand as opportunity affords. In other cases, a change of law would be involved and preparation of proposals for legislation will be dependent upon the extent to which it will prove practicable to spare staff from more essential work at the present time.