HALTON traders are being warned that just because they have been given an inch doesn’t mean they should take a mile, after confusion arose about the use of imperial measures.
Halton Borough Council’s consumer protection service and the Trading Standards Institute are reminding traders that despite recent reports of an ‘EU-turn’ over metrication in some media, nothing has changed regarding the sale of goods in metric measurements.
Last week EU Commissioner Gunter Verheugen confirmed that the UK will be allowed to continue to use imperial measures indefinitely – but only to the extent that they are being used today and the requirement to sell goods in kilograms and grams still remains.
A council spokesperson said: ‘Reports of the EU making a ‘U-turn’ on metrication and allowing the UK to ‘revert to imperial measures’ are false and misleading to consumers and traders alike.
‘The sale of goods by weight using imperial measurements is not permitted in law.’
Imperial measures can be displayed, but only alongside metric measures, except in certain, specified cases, such as milk and on road signs.
For more information visit the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform’s website at www.berr.gov.uk or contact Halton consumer protection division on 0151 906 4864.
