HL Deb 12 February 1998 vol 585 cc219-20WA
Lord Tanlaw

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether a householder or business (such as the Millennium Experience) will be liable for prosecution under the Trade Descriptions Act 1968 for publishing promotional material which indicates alignment with the Prime Meridian (0° longitude), when the meridian

Prevalence of cigarette smoking among men and women aged 16 to 34, Great Britain, 1986 to 1996
Percentage
Age 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996
Men
16 to 19 30 28 28 29 28 26
20 to 24 41 37 38 39 40 43
25 to 34 37 37 36 34 34 38
All aged 16 to 34 37 35 35 35 34 37
Women
16 to 19 30 28 32 25 27 32
20 to 24 38 37 39 37 38 36
25 to 34 35 35 34 34 30 34
All aged 16 to 34 35 34 35 33 31 34

Notes:

Percentages rounded to the nearest whole figure.

Source:

Office for National Statistics general household survey.

line referred to is not situated along the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS) International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) which became the official Prime Meridian as from 1 January. [HL456]

Lord Clinton-Davis:

The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 makes it an offence for a person, in the course of a trade or business, knowingly or recklessly to make false or misleading statements relating to services, accommodation or facilities they provide. It is for authority trading standards departments to decide whether to prosecute under the Act in any given set of circumstances. I understand that for technical reasons there are several prime meridians, including that which is historically known, and continues to be known as, the Greenwich Meridian—which was adopted at the International Meridian Conference in Washington in 1884. While this meridian is not that currently recognised by the International Earth Rotation Service. it remains the one which is generally known as the Greenwich Meridian. It would, therefore, seem highly improbable that trading standards officers would consider prosecution appropriate in the circumstances described in the noble Lord's Question.