§ Lord Inglewoodasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the International Standard ISO 9000 (Parts III and IV of BS 5750) cost £58.06 from the British Standards Institution and only £22.27 from the Standard Institute in Geneva; how the costs of standards from BSI compare with standards in other European countries and the impact on small and medium sized businesses which must apply for these standards to protect their competitive positions.
106WA
§ Baroness Denton of WakefieldThe price charged for British Standards are a matter for the British Standards Institution (BSI), which is an independent, non-profit distributing body incorporated by Royal Charter. I am advised that the information requested is as follows.
The price of BS 5750 part 3 is £11.000 and the price of BS 5750 part 4 is £41.60. The combined cost of both parts from BSI is therefore £52.60. The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) in Geneva sells publications only in Swiss Francs and advises prospective purchasers in the UK to purchase ISO standards via their primary United Kingdom sales agent, the BSI. The cost of ISO 9003, which is the direct equivalent of BS 5750 part 3, is £19.00. There is no ISO standard equivalent to BS 5750 part 4.
The prices charged by the other national standards bodies in Europe are broadly similar to the prices charged by BSI. The Sterling equivalent would vary on a daily basis according to local currency fluctuations. In order to assist small businesses, the BSI makes available complete sets of British Standards to reference libraries in the United Kingdom at heavily subsidised prices.