§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what are the key functions of the Measurement58W Advisory Committee; when the committee was established; by what authority; and if she will list the names of the chairman and the secretary. [9638]
§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsThe key functions of the Measurement Advisory Committee are to advise the Department on the effectiveness with which the national measurement system supports UK industry; and the priorities the Department should assign to programmes of work undertaken to meet the needs of the national measurement system.
The committee is an advisory non-departmental public body, whose chairman and members' appointments are personal, unpaid and voluntary. The committee was established in 1994 under the authority of the then President of the Board of Trade to replace the Standards, Quality and Measurement Advisory Committee established in 1988. The current chairman, Mr. William Goldfinch OBE, has recently been appointed for a three-year term with effect from 1 July 1997 and replaces the previous chairman, Sir Ivor Cohen, who retied on 30 June 1997.
The committee does not have a formal secretary, but is serviced by the technology and standards directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry.