§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many staff at the National Physical Laboratory have been temporarily transferred to force calibration work in the past three months, six months and year; how this compared with the situation one and two years ago; and what is the present average waiting time for customers seeking to get this work done.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe National Physical Laboratory is hard pressed to meet the demand for its calibration services because of continuing reductions in the numbers of its staff. Nevertheless, three staff were temporarily transferred to force calibration work during the past year; two of these were transferred during the past six months, none during the past three months. None was transferred during the previous two years. The present average waiting time for this work is 15 weeks.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Industry why his Department has decided to allow an industrial laboratory to undertake force calibration work rather than ensuring that the National Physical Laboratory has enough staff and resources to provide an efficient service.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldIndustrial and other laboratories are encouraged to undertake calibration work in order to save public expenditure on the provision of additional resources at Government laboratories. The British Calibration Service was set up specifically to assess and approve laboratories for this purpose. The National Physical Laboratory concentrates its attention on calibration work involving measurements of the highest accuracy, which cannot be undertaken elsewhere.