The Units of Measurement Regulations 1994
S.I. 1994/2867 · Made 6 November 1994
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
Made 6th November 1994
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
Whereas a draft of these Regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, each House of Parliament pursuant to paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 1972f1:
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designatedf2 for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to units of measurement to be used for economic, health, safety or administrative purposes, in exercise of powers conferred by that section and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—
Annotations to the whole text
Footnotes
- f1
- f2
Contents
- 1Citation and commencement
- 2Interpretation
- 3Amendment of the Regulations in 1994
- 4Amendment of the Regulations in 1995
- 5Amendment of the Act in 1994
- 6Amendment of the Act etc in 1995
- 7Amendment of the Act in 2000
- Signature
- Schedule: NEW PART VI OF SCHEDULE 1 TO THE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACT 1985
- VIDefinitions of certain units which may not be used for trade except as supplementary indications
- Explanatory note
1Citation and commencement
These Regulations may be cited as the Units of Measurement Regulations 1994 and shall come into force immediately after the coming into force of the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Metrication) (Amendment) Order 1994f1.
2Interpretation
3Amendment of the Regulations in 1994
On the coming into force of these Regulations the Regulations shall be amended as follows.
In Regulation 2, after the definition of “specified circumstances”there shall be inserted—
““supplementary indication”has the same meaning as it has in section 8(5A) of the Act;”.
For Regulation 7, there shall be substituted—
“7Supplementary indications are authorised to be used in the specified circumstances.”.
Regulation 10 shall be omitted.
4Amendment of the Regulations in 1995
On 1st October 1995 the Regulations shall be amended as follows.
In Regulation 8, in paragraph (2), at the beginning there shall be inserted “Parts I to III of”.
The following paragraphs shall be added to Regulation 11—
“(3)Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5) below, where a contract entered into before 1st October 1995 falls to be performed or to be performed partly on or after that date and the contract refers to a unit of measurement defined in Part IV of Schedule 3 to these Regulations, then, on and after that date, that reference shall (except where the unit is used otherwise than as a primary indication of quantity), be construed in the specified circumstances as a reference to the value set out in the appropriate column of that Schedule in relation to that unit; and accordingly any calculation that has under the contract to be made in those circumstances by reference to that unit shall instead be made by reference to that value.
(4)Where a contract for which paragraph (3) above provides relates to any of the fields of application specified in Schedule 3A to these Regulations, any reference in the contract to a unit of measurement authorised by Regulation 13 of these Regulations for use in relation to that field is not required to be construed as that paragraph provides until 1st January 2000.
(5)Where a contract for which paragraph (3) above provides relates to any of the fields of application specified in Schedule 3B to these Regulations, any reference in the contract to a unit of measurement authorised by Regulation 14 of these Regulations for use in relation to that field is not required to be construed as that paragraph provides.”.
After Regulation 11 there shall be added the following—
“ Part iv
Units of measurement on and after 1st October 1995
12Subject to Regulations 13 and 14 below, the units of measurement and their symbols and abbreviations specified in Part Iv of Schedule 3 to these Regulations are not authorised for use in the specified circumstances on and after 1st October 1995 (except as supplementary indications in accordance with Regulation 7).
13The units of measurement specified in Schedule 3A to these Regulations are, together with their symbols and abbreviations, authorised for use on and after 1st October 1995, but before 1st January 2000, in the fields of application specified in relation to them in that Schedule.
14The units of measurement specified in Schedule 3B to these Regulations are, together with their symbols and abbreviations, authorised for use on and after 1st October 1995 in the fields of application specified in relation to them in that Schedule.”.
For “(Regulation 8(2))” at the head of Schedule 3 there shall be substituted “(Regulations 8(2) and 12)”; for the heading of Schedule 3 there shall be substituted “UNITS OF MEASUREMENT WHICH ARE NOT AUTHORISED FOR USE IN THE SPECIFIED CIRCUMSTANCES EXCEPT AS SUPPLEMENTARY INDICATIONS”; and after Part III of Schedule 3 there shall be added the following—
“Part iv
(Operative date 1st October 1995)
Quantities, names of units, symbols, abbreviations and approximate values:
(1) Length inch 1 in = 2.54 × 10-2m foot 1 ft = 0.3048 m yard 1 yd = 0.9144 m mile 1 mile = 1609 m (2) Area square foot 1 sq ft = 0.929 × 10-1 m2 square yard 1 sq yd = 0.8361 m2 acre 1 ac = 4047 m2 (3) Volume fluid ounce 1 fl oz = 28.41 × 10-6 m3 gill 1 gill = 0.1421 × 10-3 m3 pint 1 pt = 0.5683 × 10-3 m3 quart 1 qt = 1.137 × 10-3 m3 gallon 1 gal = 4.546 × 10-3 m3 (4) Mass ounce (avoirdupois) 1 oz = 28.35 × 10-3 kg troy ounce 1 oz tr = 31.10 × 10-3 kg pound 1 lb = 0.4536 kg (5) Energy therm 1 therm = 105.506 × 106 J ”.
After Schedule 3 there shall be added the following—
“SCHEDULE 3A
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT AUTHORISED FOR USE IN SPECIALISED FIELDS ON AND AFTER 1ST OCTOBER 1995 BUT BEFORE 1ST JANUARY 2000
(Regulation 13)
Unit Field of application fathom Marine navigation fluid ounce pint Beer, cider, water, lemonade and fruit juice in returnable containers ounce (avoirdupois) pound Goods for sale loose from bulk therm Gas supply SCHEDULE 3B
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT AUTHORISED FOR USE IN SPECIALISED FIELDS ON AND AFTER 1ST OCTOBER 1995
(Regulation 14)
Unit Field of application inch foot yard mile Road traffic signs, distance and speed measurement pint Dispense of draught beer or cider
Milk in returnable containers
acre Land registration troy ounce Transactions in precious metals ”
5Amendment of the Act in 1994
On the coming into force of these Regulations the Act shall be amended as follows.
In section 8 for subsection (5) there shall be substituted the following—
“(5)The proceding provisions have effect subject to—
(a)subsection (5A) below, and
(b)sections 9 and 89 below.
(5A)Nothing in this section precludes the use for trade of any supplementary indication; and for this purpose any indication of quantity (“the imperial indication”) is a supplementary indication if—
(a)it is expressed in a unit of measurement other than a metric unit,
(b)it accompanies an indication of quantity expressed in a metric unit (“the metric indication”) and is not itself authorised for use in the circumstances as a primary indication of quantity, and
(c)the metric indication is the more prominent, the imperial indication being, in particular, expressed in characters no larger than those of the metric indication.”.
6Amendment of the Act etc in 1995
On 1st October 1995 the Act shall be amended as follows.
In section 1 (units of measurement)—
at the beginning of subsection (1) there shall be inserted “Subject to subsection (6) below,”;
for subsection (4) there shall be substituted—
“(4)Without prejudice to section 8(6)(b) below an order under subsection (3) above shall not remove the pint from Part IV of Schedule 1.”; and
after subsection (5) there shall be added—
“(6)Subsection (1) above shall not have effect so as to authorise the use in the specified circumstances of—
(a)the yard as a measurement of length, or
(b)the pound as a measurement of mass,
otherwise than in accordance with Regulation 7 of the Units of Measurement Regulations 1986 (supplementary indications) or, in the case of the pound, in accordance with section 8(2)(f)f1 below (which permits the pound to be used for the purposes of the sale of goods loose from bulk).
(7)In subsection (6) above “the specified circumstances”has the same meaning as in the Units of Measurement Regulations 1986, that is to say the circumstances specified in Article 2(a) of Council Directive No. 80/181/EEC as limited by the provisions of Article 2(b) of that Directive.”.
In section 3(2) (Department of Trade and Industry secondary standards) for “one gallon”there shall be substituted “8 pints”.
In section 27 (exemption from requirement to state quantity of goods sold in writing) in subsection (2)(a)—
in sub–paragraph (i) for “224 pounds”there shall be substituted “110 kilograms”; and
in sub–paragraph (ii) for “five gallons”there shall be substituted “25 litres”.
In Schedule 1 (definitions of units of measurement)—
in Parts I and II the entries for imperial units shall be omitted;
in Part IV—
the definitions of the gallon, quart and gill shall be omitted; and
for the definition of the pint there shall be substituted—
“PINT = 0.568 261 25 cubic decimetre.”; and
for Part VI there shall be substituted the Part VI set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.
In Schedule 5 (transactions in solid fuel)—
in paragraph 9(a) for “224 pounds”there shall be substituted “100 kilograms”; and
in paragraph 28(1)(a) for “224 million pounds”there shall be substituted “101,600 tonnes”.
In Schedule 11 (transitional provisions and savings)—
for paragraph 25 there shall be substituted—
“25In any of the following, namely—
(a)any byelaw made under paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 to the 1963 Act (including that paragraph as extended to wood fuel by paragraph 4 of Part IV of Schedule 7 to that Act),
(b)any byelaw made under paragraph 2 of Part IV of Schedule 7 to that Act, and
(c)any byelaw made under any enactment repealed by that Act, where the byelaw is continued in force by virtue of paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 6 to that Act,
references to a ton, half a ton, two hundredweights, a hundredweight, a quarter or a stone (or to the equivalent number of pounds in the case of each of those quantities) shall be construed as references to 1000, 500, 100, 50, 15 or 7.5 kilograms respectively.”; and
after paragraph 25 there shall be added—
“26Where any byelaw to which paragraph 25 above applies contains a requirement not only to mark a price clearly and legibly but to mark it in figures of at least three inches in height, the reference to three inches shall be construed as a reference to 7.5 centimetres.”.
In any of the following namely—
any byelaw made under paragraph 9 of Schedule 5 to the Act (including that paragraph as extended to wood fuel by paragraph 14 Schedule 6 to the Act); and
any byelaw made under paragraph 12 of Schedule 6 to the Act,
references to 1120, 224 or 14 pounds shall be construed as references to 500, 100 or 7.5 kilograms respectively; and where any such byelaw contains a requirement not only to mark a price clearly and legibly but to mark it in figures of at least three inches in height, the references to three inches shall be construed as a reference to 7.5 centimetres.
7Amendment of the Act in 2000
On 1st January 2000 the Act shall be amended as follows.
In section 1(6) (inserted in section 1 by regulation 6(2)(c) above) the words after “(supplementary indications)”shall be omitted.
In Schedule 1—
in Part IV—
for the heading “ Imperial units”there shall be substituted “ Imperial unit”;and
the definition of the fluid ounce shall be omitted;
in Part V—
for the heading “ Imperial units”there shall be substituted “ Imperial unit”;
the definitions of the pound and the ounce shall be omitted; and
for the definition of the ounce troy there shall be substituted—
“OUNCE TROY = 0.031 103 476 8 kilogram.”;
in Part VI—
after the definition of the gill there shall be inserted—
“Fluid ounce = 1/20 pint.”; and
after the definition of the stone there shall be inserted—
“POUND = 0.453 592 37 kilogram.
Ounce = 1/16 pound.”.
In Schedule 11 in paragraph 17 the following shall be omitted—
in sub–paragraph (1)(b) “stones, quarters, hundredweights or tons,”; and
sub–paragraph (2)(a) and “or”immediately following it.
Signature
Ferrers
Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms,
Department of Trade and Industry
6th November 1994
VIDefinitions of certain units which may not be used for trade except as supplementary indications
| Measurement of length | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mile | = | 1760 yards. |
| Furlong | = | 220 yards. |
| Chain | = | 22 yards. |
| YARD | = | 0.9144 metre. |
| Foot | = | ⅓ yard. |
| Inch | = | 1/36 yard. |
| Measurement of area | ||
| Square mile | = | 640 acres. |
| Acre | = | 4840 square yards. |
| Rood | = | 1210 square yards. |
| Square yard | = | a superficial area equal to that of a square each side of which measures one yard. |
| Square foot | = | 1/9 square yard. |
| Square inch | = | 1/144; square foot. |
Measurement of volume | ||
| Cubic yard | = | a volume equal to that of a cube each edge of which measures one yard. |
| Cubic foot | = | 1/27 cubic yard. |
| Cubic inch | = | 1/1728 cubic foot. |
| Measurement of capacity | ||
| Bushel | = | 8 gallons. |
| Peck | = | 2 gallons |
| GALLON | = | 4.54609 cubic decimetres. |
| Quart | = | ¼ gallon. |
| Gill | = | ¼ pint. |
| Fluid drachm | = | ⅛ fluid ounce. |
| Minim | = | 1/60 fluid drachm. |
| Measurement of mass or weight | ||
| Ton | = | 2240 pounds. |
| Hundredweight | = | 112 pounds. |
| Cental | = | 100 pounds. |
| Quarter | = | 28 pounds. |
| Stone | = | 14 pounds. |
| Dram | = | 1/16 ounce. |
| Grain | = | 1/7000 pound. |
| Pennyweight | = | 24 grains. |
| Ounce apothecaries | = | 480 grains. |
| Drachm | = | ⅛ ounce apothecaries. |
| Scruple | = | ⅓ drachm. |
| Metric ton | = | 1000 kilograms. |
| Quintal | = | 100 kilograms. |
Explanatory note
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations implement the amendments made by Council Directive 89/617/EEC (OJ No. L357, 7.12.89, p.28) to Council Directive 80/181/EEC (OJ No. L39, 15.2.80, p.40) (“the Directive”) which relates to the use of units of measurement for economic, public health, public safety or administrative purposes (“the specified circumstances”).
They end, in general, the authorised use, in the specified circumstances, of the imperial units of measurement most commonly used to describe length, area, volume and mass (such as the yard, pint and pound) after 30th September 1995. They do however provide certain exceptions which permit the continued use of these imperial units for specific purposes beyond that date. For example, there is an exception for the pint for draught beer and cider and for milk in a returnable bottle.
These Regulations amend the Units of Measurement Regulations 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”) and the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (“the Act”).
The Act is also amended to reflect the requirements of the Directive by the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (Metrication) (Amendment) Order 1994 (S.I. 1994/2866) which should be read in conjunction with these Regulations in order to see how the Act’s provisions as a whole are amended in implementation of the Directive.
The 1986 Regulations consolidated previous Regulations which implemented both the provisions of the Directive before its amendment by Directive 89/617/EEC and those of its predecessor, Council Directive 71/354/EEC (OJ No. L243, 29.10.71, p.29).
As a result of the amendments made to the 1986 Regulations by these Regulations, the use of those commonly used imperial units referred to above ceases to be authorised in the specified circumstances except where they benefit from a derogation. Details of these derogations are given in the new Schedules 3A and 3B which Regulation 4(6) adds to the 1986 Regulations.
One significant amendment made by these Regulations to the Act is made by Regulation 6(5)(c) which amends the Act so as to make unlawful for use for trade those commonly used imperial units referred to above by placing them in Part VI of Schedule 1 to the Act (see the Schedule to these Regulations). They may however continue to be used as supplementary indications which accompany indications of quantity given by means of metric units.