Just after midnight on 27 December 2023, the government published the response to its imperial units consultation. On the same day, the BBC initially reported it under the headline “Metric measurement rules to stay after Brexit review”. Later that day, the BBC changed its headline to “Pint-sized bottles of wine to be sold after Brexit review” and buried the main story at the bottom of the rewritten article. The new pint size for wine bottles was not the main news item but a side issue. The BBC news report was changed to cover up the overwhelming public rejection of government plans to revive imperial units. Did the BBC bow to political pressure to cover up bad news for the government?
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No government response one year after imperial units consultation closed
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?
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