My Lords, I start by reassuring noble Lords that a statutory framework for the use of units of measurement is already in place. The Weights
and Measures Act 1985 requires the use of metric units for any regulated transaction, with the following exceptions—draught beer and cider, bottled milk and precious metals, where we still use the troy ounce. These are required to be sold in imperial units. In addition, the Units of Measurement Regulations 1986 list all the legal units available for any other purpose. The Weights and Measures Act applies to any unit or measurement in use for trade. This is intended to apply not just in the transaction itself but to any use in connection with, or with a view to, trade. That would already cover most advertisements or product descriptions for goods. I hope that noble Lords will be reassured by this. I am certainly very keen to avoid any possible confusion for consumers, businesses or enforcers. I am concerned that businesses might be confused by duplication of existing requirements, particularly if that were to result in reduced levels of compliance as businesses were uncertain about which set of rules they must comply with. Having a single set of requirements on units of measurement, as we currently do, all under the weights and measures framework, makes it easier for businesses to know where to look for the rules and how to comply with them.
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I am entirely with noble Lords in the spirit of this framework. We live, and therefore must operate, in a world in which people use modern and internationally recognised units of measurement. That is why the Government support a single system of units. It allows consumers to compare quantities and make informed purchasing decisions and it reduces costs for businesses. The UK is already a metric nation, with the vast majority of trade taking place using metric units. Some £212 billion of household expenditure per year is protected by weights and measures legislation, with the vast majority of that sold in metric units.
However, the Government also recognise that some people are more familiar with, or prefer, imperial units. That is why we are committed to retaining imperial units where they are currently the legal unit or where they are used alongside metric as supplementary indications, for as long as people find them useful.
As the noble Lord has mentioned, the existing framework for units of measurement has been in place for almost two decades and metric has been taught in schools since the 1970s. I think it might be earlier than that; I took A-level physics at the end of the 1960s and we did it in metric. However, metric units are now the norm. The existing regulations have helped the UK to make the transition to metric units for the vast majority of transactions and they remain in place to ensure consistency in the use of units. I therefore ask the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment.