§ Mr. Whitlockasked the Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection what is the period of delay in the examination of new machines by the Legal Metrology Department; and what steps he is taking to end it.
§ Mr. John Fraser:The average delay before examination starts of new patterns of weighing or measuring equipment is currently 15 months, but it can 3W be from nine to 21 months because the range and complexity of submissions vary and cannot easily be forecast. An unforseeable surge of new submissions over the past year has contributed to the delay. Extra staff are being recruited and in the meantime all existing technical effort is being concentrated on examination work.