§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection whether she has any immediate plans to require dual marking on prepackaged goods.
Mr. Alan WilliamsThe Weights and Measures (Marking of Goods and Abbreviations of Units) Regulations 1975 have been made today. The main feature of these regulations is that from 1st January 1978 both Imperial and metric quantity marking will be required on most prepackaged goods. They will also require with immediate effect that those items which are sold in prescribed metric quantities must be marked "metric pack". The purpose of these regulations is to enable consumers easily to identify metric packs and to make value for money comparisons. Other parts of the regulations deal with the size of markings and specify the symbols and abbreviations which may be used. In conjunction with the regulations a code of practice will be issued to ensure a consistent approach to the dual marking requirement.