Today is one year since the “Choice on units of measurement: markings and sales” consultation closed. It is about Government proposals to remove the requirement to show metric units alongside imperial units in trade or allow metric units to be shown with less prominence than imperial units. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published this consultation on 3 June 2022. It ran from 9am on 3 June 2022 to 11pm on 26 August 2022. The Government’s own Consultation Principles state that Government responses to consultations should be published within 12 weeks of the consultation or provide an explanation why this is not possible. The response to the consultation was due on 18 November 2022, 12 weeks after the consultation closed. Today is 26 August 2023 and we are still waiting for it. Why is it taking the Government so long to respond to the consultation?
Today, the consultation is now 281 days overdue. In response to my Questions Government must answer about imperial units consultation MV article, Martin Vlietstra has observed, “This has not been helped by the game of musical chairs that has played Downing Street since the consultation was first announced.”. Further on in his comment on this article, he writes:
“The observant reader will notice that during most of the time that the consultation was open, the country had a caretaker prime minister and during the twelve weeks when the government should have been analysing the results, there were three prime ministers and three secretaries of state. It has of course not helped that the BEIS was broken up into four departments.”
He asks, “Who will own up to having inherited a mess from their predecessor or will the current secretary of state (which one?) just kick it into the long grass for their successor to pick up?”. It is a good question that only the Government can answer.
Today, this is what visitors see on the Government’s consultation page:
The Government says that they are analysing your feedback. So why is it taking the Government so long to respond to the consultation? The reason given is that “This consultation closed on 26 August 2022 and received over 100,000 responses. Due to the large volume of responses, analysis is still ongoing.”. The Government asks you to visit this page again soon to download the outcome to this public feedback. How many responses? How soon? They don’t say. No information is given to tell you how many responses they received or when the Government’s response will be published.
Here is a reminder to tell us what the Government hoped to achieve in this consultation, which appears under the Consultation Description heading on the consultation page:
“The government is committed to reviewing the current law to identify how more choice can be given to businesses and consumers over the units of measurement they use for trade, while ensuring that measurement information remains accurate. The evidence gathered from this consultation will inform the government’s plans to provide a choice on weights and measures for consumer transactions.”
In other words, they had already decided on the outcome they wanted before they published their consultation. Previous Metric Views articles have described the flaws of this sham consultation and biased survey. They framed the consultation in a way to get the answers they wanted. They consulted a broad range of stakeholders that interact with all consumer transactions based on units of measurements – including businesses, trade associations, enforcement authorities, consumers, and consumer organisations – and are probably struggling to make sense of the responses due to the poor survey design and its technical problems. Perhaps they are reluctant to publish their response to the consultation because they did not get the answers they wanted.
It is disturbing that this page was last updated on 21 November 2022, three days after the response to the consultation was due. Over nine months have passed since this page was last updated. It seems that the Government would rather forget about the consultation and kick it into the long grass. The Government appears to be quietly burying it and allowing it to vanish without trace.
The Government’s imperial units consultation page can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales.
The Government’s Consultations Principles page can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/consultation-principles-guidance.
Previous Metric Views articles about the imperial units consultation:
- https://metricviews.uk/2023/06/18/the-conflict-between-measurement-choice-and-accuracy/
- https://metricviews.uk/2023/05/23/phso-whitewashes-my-beis-complaint-about-imperial-units-consultation/
- https://metricviews.uk/2023/04/23/questions-government-must-answer-about-imperial-units-consultation/
- https://metricviews.uk/2023/04/20/phso-initial-response-to-my-complaint-about-beis/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/12/01/how-imperial-units-survey-design-flaws-could-have-been-fixed/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/11/06/government-imperial-units-consultation-bedevilled-by-inaccuracy-bias-bodges-and-computer-blunders/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/10/19/make-another-u-turn-scrap-imperial-measures-proposals/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/09/22/imperial-red-meat-policy-wont-save-the-conservatives/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/07/11/how-to-respond-to-imperial-only-measurement-proposals/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/06/28/taking-us-back-to-the-1970s/
- https://metricviews.uk/2022/05/30/queens-jubilee-celebrations-to-include-return-of-imperial-units/
- https://metricviews.uk/2021/09/17/governments-return-to-imperial-set-to-make-uk-a-laughing-stock/
- https://metricviews.uk/2021/07/09/retrograde-step-proposed-for-retail-trade/
Metric Views 
Probably just as well. Let the so-called “consultation” die a quiet death, never to be seen or heard from again.
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I would take this as a positive. It has proven that there is no real appetite for reverting back. Given that the response to it was overwhelming negative, even with the biased questioner, I am personally more than happy for them to move on like it never happened and not bring up that silly idea ever again.
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Alex M,
I agree that they didn’t get the overwhelming response they were hoping for and as a result are keeping a low profile. But, unfortunately, they don’t intend to move on. They are hoping that in the autumn the king in his speech will make some sort of gesture granting equal status for imperial.
Only if the king in his speech never mentions imperial is there hope that everyone can move on and move forward. I hope Metricviews is keeping a watch on this and will work diligently behind the scenes to assure the king makes no mention of imperial or measurements in his speech, unless it is a mention to complete metrication where it is lacking such as on road signs.
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Apart from the use of the pint for draught beer and cider, and for door-step deliveries of milk, imperial units have not been legal for trade since the last century. For packaged goods, imperial units ceased to be legal for trade in 1995.
For the Government’s proposals to be described as “proposals to remove the requirement to show metric units alongside imperial units in trade”, seems a back-to-front way of saying that imperial units can currently only be used as an optional supplementary indication alongside the legally required metric quantity indication. For goods that include an imperial supplementary indication, it is the metric quantity that is the legal unit for trade. However, in practice supplementary indications are rarely used now. The vast majority of goods have been labelled in metric-only for many years – some, such as sugar and breakfast cereals, have been metric-only since 1980.
The Government’s proposals would require the re-introduction of imperial units as legal units for trade, though they don’t say which of the many old units they would re-instate. In addition to the pound and ounce, would they also bring back the stone, the dram and the grain? In addition to the pint, would they also bring back the fluid ounce, the gallon, and the gill? Each additional regulated unit increases the complexity of legislation, and increases the burden and costs for trading standards and other regulatory authorities.
There would be many other issues too, such as how would dual unit labels be interpreted in the case of a legal dispute – would both units be the legal unit? Consumer protection would also suffer: buyers would no longer be able to compare prices easily if traders ceased to use the same measurement units for their goods.
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m:
What you say is perfectly correct – for packaged goods. But there are still street and market vendors selling goods loose from bulk who are pricing in imperial only even if the vendors weigh the goods out on a metric scale. That is a practice that needs to stop. Dual pricing in street markets also needs to stop. The law says metric is the law and 23 years after the changeover there is no reason to show imperial conversions or supplementaries any more. That particular part of the switch was handled badly and generated a lot of publicity in the early part of this century (with traders ‘martyring’ themselves for imperial), but it’s time to move on and ensure that the measurement units shown in street markets are the same as those used in supermarkets. How can the consumer make a reasonable comparison otherwise?
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@metricnow
So, the sole legal unit for trade is metric and the scale used to weigh the product is metric only but the seller advertises the price in Imperial only? How can that possibly be legal?
The government is clearly being derelict in their duty to protect the consumer and enforce the law. But, like, what else is new, right? 😦
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Ezra:
You tell me how it can be legal! I don’t know. I saw a trader earlier this year with all his pricing in imperial and with a large, imperial pan scale hanging on the side of his market stall. I thought: how can this be? Not only are his goods priced in imperial but he weighs them on those unauthorised scales. I waited and watched. His customers were (predicably) asking for imperial quantities since that is how the prices were displayed. He took the goods and weighed them on an electronic metric scale which was tucked away at the side, just visible to the eye of a buyer. It is quite legal for customers to ask for imperial quantities. The trader has to do the conversion and make sure they give the right amount. (Correct me, someone, if I am wrong.) The large, prominent imperial pan scale seemed to be a decorative item. (Or a symbol of defiance.) Perhaps I should have taken a photo.
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Metricnow,
I’m sure that scale is put there with the intent of deceiving the customers who think he will use it to weigh out their goods in pounds in front of their eyes. Only surprise, surprise, he weighs it out in grams out of their sight.
It is possible the mechanical scale is broken or out of tune and wouldn’t it be a hoot if it underweighs, giving the customer more than what he thinks he is giving them? I wonder though, since his scale does not do incremental grams or divisions of a gram, but is either in 5 or 10 g increments, what does he actually give the customer?
Say they as for a half of a pound (226.78 g). The scale can’t display 226.78 g. If it is in 10 g increment, he has only two choices that are close, 220 g or 230 g. I’m sure he would go for 230 g or more in order to move more product. Did you happen to notice what the customer asked for and the actual amount sold from the scale display? If not, maybe the next time you are in a similar situation you may wish to pay attention closely to the transaction. It might prove interesting.
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@MetricNow
Wow! That whole charade of doing business in Imperial is reprehensible. But it appears to be totally legal, which is the problem. (So much for the desideratum in the Magna Carta for a standard measure throughout the realm. 😦
Given a government that won’t even convert distance or speed limit road signs to metric or even allow metric only width and height restriction signs for vehicles or just metric length signs without an accompanying sign in Imperial, the chances are essentially nil that Tories would risk the wrath of new “metric martyrs” by outlawing signs in shops showing prices per Imperial unit given that they are so behind Labour in the polls of voter sentiment now that you guys are hurtling towards a general election.
Even if Labour handily wins a significant majority at the next election, I wonder if the new leadership at DfT will be willing to entertain any thought of a transition of Imperial road signs to metric. To my mind such a conversion is less likely to stir the ire of the average voter and would be a safer bet to undertake without too much blowback, especially early on in their tenure as the new government and well before another general election would be required.
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@Ezra
Unit pricing in imperial-only is illegal:
https://www.gov.uk/weights-measures-and-packaging-the-law
“You can display an imperial measurement alongside the metric measurement but it cannot stand out more than the metric measurement.”
“You can be fined or sent to prison if you break the rules.”
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/102
“Manner of indication of selling price and unit price
…
(4) Where, in addition to a unit price, a price per quantity is indicated in relation to a supplementary indication of quantity the unit price shall predominate and the price per supplementary indication of quantity shall be expressed in characters no larger than the unit price.
(5) In paragraph (4) “supplementary indication of quantity” refers to an indication of quantity expressed in a unit of measurement other than a metric unit as authorised by section 8(5A) of the Weights and Measures Act 1985.”
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@Ezra
I wouldn’t hold out too much hope that a Labour government would be any more likely to complete metrication than the current Government:
Under a Labour government in 2008, regarding prosecutions for trading using illegal scales and imperial-only unit pricing, it was reported that the then Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills Innovations Secretary, John Denham, “would introduce new guidelines within months that would prevent local authorities from taking traders to court.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7677438.stm
This was the subject of a MetricViews article at the time:
https://web.archive.org/web/20090107210115/http://www.metricviews.org.uk/2008/10/19/imaginative-spin-on-non-event/
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Judging from the negative comments even from traditional conservative supporting tabloids I believe the government decided that going backwards and costing the British taxpayers money wasn’t worth doing in a cost of living crisis, so I guess the government just let the question die. Like it or not slowly but steadily the British people might actually start getting used to the metric system, who knows maybe in a generation people might ask themselves why we haven’t gone completely over to using metric.. sometimes a mighty river starts flowing from a stream.
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So, it looks like there is no going back to Imperial only labels or even labels where Imperial is more prominent than than the markings in metric. That is quite a relief.
Despite the metric muddle (which should be fixed immediately) the UK is still far ahead of the USA in the public sphere when it comes to the presence of metric units over Imperial units. However, I did come across this humorous (to me, anyway) video about how the USA is supposedly going metric:
I wouldn’t take this video too seriously, but it is kind of fun to watch anyway. Enjoy! 🙂
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I am still struck at how Irish media have fully adopted metric. Here is an important story about Italy where the reporter quite naturally and matter of factly uses “kilometres” (pronounced correctly) and “hectares” in the story without a second thought. (See the link below.)
Just think back to the time not that long ago when Ireland was using Imperial units anywhere and everywhere. Ireland is proof positive that fully converting to metric can be done even in a country with a long history of using Imperial units!
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I just went back to the video I posted earlier and see it was created by Euronews, which is headquartered in Brussels and funded by the EU. Since the reporter has an Irish accent, I assumed the report was produced in Ireland. Sorry about missing that.
Nonetheless, all of the news reports I have seen from RTE, the Irish Times, etc. have consistently used metric units only, so that’s another reason I assumed the video was of Irish origin.
Hope this clears things up. Nonetheless, the battle cry must be “Go metric!” 🙂
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Here is one YouTuber’s history of the fits and starts of the American approach-avoidance dance with the metric system:
Actually pretty interesting and unbiased.
Too bad Reagan won and Carter lost the election for US President back in 1980. Otherwise, we would have undoubtedly converted to metric in the 1980’s and consequently the UK would have been obliged to complete their conversion as well.
After that, Liberia and Burma would have followed suit and the entire world would finally be able to agree at least on one thing: metric is awesome!
Ah, well … maybe someday, eh?
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Funny how videos are popping up on my phone about the USA and metric probably due to my clicking the Like icon on such videos. Anyhow, here is Neil deGrasse Tyson talking about how the USA is “inching” towards metric:
deGrass Tyson is wrong alas about all nutritional information being in metric now in the USA since “Calories” are not metric (and he does not even mention “joules”). But overall, it is a rather humorous tongue in cheek discussion. I was notably surprised that his counterpart actually advocates that the USA convert to metric at the end. Excellent! 🙂
By the by, whenever I post a comment on a video that fails to use metric someone always comes back with a braindead comment about how Imperial is better or Imperial what everyone uses or I should just convert to metric in my own head. So sad.
However, I do also add comments to any video that uses “micron” instead of “micrometre” since the NIST bulletin (which I refer to) specifically lists “micron” as a unit to be avoided. This time around someone replied to me by trashing NIST as pointless since it is American. In order for me to reply, can someone point me to a publication from the BIPM or the CGPM or other such official organization that lists units that are deemed obsolete (such as “micron” and maybe even “angstrom”) so I can’t point to a publication that is not American? Thanks in advance.
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@Ezra
The current SI brochure includes a reference for the ending of the use of the unit name “micron”. This decision was taken at the 13th CGPM in 1967/68.
Click to access SI-Brochure-9-EN.pdf
Appendix 1, page 170:
“Resolution 7
The 13th Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM),
considering that subsequent decisions of the General Conference concerning the Système International d’Unités are incompatible with parts of Resolution 7 of the 9th CGPM (1948),
decides accordingly to remove from Resolution 7 of the 9th Conference:
1. the unit name “micron”, and the symbol “μ” which had been given to that unit but which has now become a prefix;
2. the unit name “new candle”.”
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I know I rag on the BBC a lot but today was a real doozie. The presenter was discussing the recent events in Israel and managed to squeeze in “feet”, “meters”, “miles”, and “kilometers” all in the same short report.
The muddle is not only worse than I thought but is being actively promoted by the BBC. What a pathetic dereliction of public duty. Amazing. 😦
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Ezra,
I don’t know if the BBC can discipline a presenter as the BBC is an inanimate object incapable of such action. That would have to come from either his immediate boss or from someone up the ladder of leadership. Someone with authority needs to set down a set of rules spelling out the use of units. But, even with that will everyone obey? What about the free-lance reporter on the street? If he refuses to obey, what should be done with him/her?
This will be a hard problem to solve as there are some people who work for the organisation that are anti-metric and will use their position to expose their beloved FFU to the public. What is your solution?
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The consultation response has finally been published! And as suspected, they didn’t get the response they wanted. In spades. I think we can see why it took so long to publish…
From an enormous 100,000 responses, 81% wanted to keep the current “metric first”, and over 17% wanted to lose the imperial entirely! Only 1.3% wished to have more choice or return to imperial only.
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales/outcome/choice-on-units-of-measurement-consultation-response
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eagleparsleyariel16662,
Quoted from the link:
Next steps – new guidance on use of imperial in markings and sales
27) Whilst the government is not making any changes to the law at this time, as stated above, imperial measurements remain a part of our culture and language, and we acknowledge that some respondents would welcome the opportunity to have more freedom regarding the units they purchase goods in.
28) To support this, we are publishing new guidance that will raise awareness of the current freedoms that exist to display imperial units alongside a more prominent metric equivalent and encourage and support traders to consider their use. A wider review of metrology legislation is being undertaken in line with the government’s commitment to identify opportunities for reform of Retained EU Law. As the first step in this review we have announced our intention to update the specified sizes that prepacked still and sparkling wine can be sold in allowing both to be sold in 500ml and 200ml sizes and introducing a new 568ml ‘pint’ quantity.
It seems the government is going to push for a “pint” of 568 mL, but if it ever is produced, it will certainly be 570 mL as the machines that fill the bottles can only do so in 10 mL increments. There are presently no 570 mL bottles in existence and even the moulds don’t exist. One company two years ago produced 800 bottles of sparkling wine in 500 mL bottles. It take a minimum of 3 years for the wine to ferment in these bottles so the 500 mL size will be ready for the market in 2024.
unquote
If the French makers of the wine were convinced that the 570 mL size was hugely profitable and saw fit to produce the moulds and then the bottles, it would take 3 years minimum before they can reach the market.
Nobody however is saying what the cost will be for the 500 mL or even the 570 mL size. It may be due to the expense to produce the special bottles, the limited marketability of the product that in the end, the 570 mL size price will be the same or close to the 750 mL size? So, who in their right mind will purchase 570 mL of something and pay the same price as 750 mL?
Also, it seems that the “Next Steps” section of the report is meant to say that despite the fact that over 80 % of the population is opposed to re-imperialisation, there are those forces that will make periodic attempts to sneak in imperial wherever and whenever they can. We will have to keep our eyes open and resist these attempts at every turn.
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The results of the consultation are a whitewash. By and large the public want to retain the status quo. In their response, the Government admits to having had a few “technical problems” (see https://metricviews.uk/2022/11/06/government-imperial-units-consultation-bedevilled-by-inaccuracy-bias-bodges-and-computer-blunders/comment-page-1/ and https://metricviews.uk/2023/04/23/questions-government-must-answer-about-imperial-units-consultation/) and claimed that account had been taken of the issues raised.
The gist of the response is that no change in weights and measures legislation but it is proposed that two new measures for wine will be introduced – one pint and 500 ml.
The final paragraph of the summary caught my eye. It read “The government encourages businesses to consider expanding the choice of units of measurement in sales they offer to their customers, where appropriate, in line with the freedoms set out in the current legislation. For some businesses, offering an imperial measurement alongside the more prominent metric measurement may enhance the inclusivity and accessibility of their products, as some consumers may have greater familiarity with imperial units.” My response is to take note that the UK has a long and proud history of using the Ango-Saxon vernacular when suggestion such as this are made.
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The Government consulted and the pubic replied. And in spite of the biassed nature of the consultation, an overwhelming majority want to stay with metric units. If this is not a clear indication of pubic feeling, I do not know what is.
And yet the Government still wants to hang on to vestiges of imperialism. “The government encourages businesses to consider expanding the choice of units of measurement in sales they offer to their customers, where appropriate, in line with the freedoms set out in the current legislation.” The consultation indicates that this is not wanted.
As for pint bottles of champagne, I note Daniel’s comments on this. I have nothing to add to his well-chosen words except to say that I entirely agree. Nothing more than a pipe dream.
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I am totally baffled by all this.
Despite everything, this government still persists with this notion that ‘we’ need corrective education into the dark ages of imperialism.
At most 0.9% by their own grossly fiddled and biased figures yet still pushing for any rebels to take full advantage of the current loopholes for the use of these foul medieval units of confusion.
The best I can hope for is that any of this stupid legislation gets a hammering in the Lords at least, MP’s seem to be totally blind to the harm it is doing to the country.
At least there is some indication in recent times that the media is catching on to the fact that most of us are metric savvy and do not need to have fake translations for everything.
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“The government encourages businesses to consider expanding the choice of units of measurement in sales they offer to their customers, where appropriate, in line with the freedoms set out in the current legislation.”
OK… So why don’t the supporters of this statement insist that pubs, bars, restaurants, etc, have the legal right to sell beer and ales in any glass size they want? If they want to sell a 500 mL glass of beer, then give them the choice to do so? In the US, there are no restrictions on sizes for beers, it is up to the bar or restaurant to sell in any amount they want. They don’t even have to advertise the glass size.
Also, expanding the choice of units adds cost as you often may end up with duplication due to two sizes being too close. If there is a marketable reason to expand choices it will often be in the same units, not different units? Then what about the filling machines? Most fill in 10 g or 10 mL increments. How would they fill an imperial size? It would have to be to the closest 10 g or 10 mL, just like 568 mL is filled to 570 mL.
Funny thing about soft drinks in the US. They are rounded metric fills for all sizes over 1 L plus 500 mL. All other sizes below 1 L are in ounce sizes. For a few decades there was a “popular” 20 ounce (591 mL) bottle (filled to 600 mL). This size was in the past year or so reduced to 500 mL and has disappeared, at least in my market area. Why these small sizes haven’t been marketed in rounded millilitres like the larger sizes is a mystery.
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