Written question asked by Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Labour) on Friday, 12 December 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 30 December 2014. It was answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Conservative) on Monday, 29 December 2014 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Hallmarking

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Hallmarking Convention in protecting the British precious metals industry.

Answer: The International Hallmarking Convention provides the opportunity for the British precious metals industry to have precious metal articles hallmarked with the Convention hallmarks by the UK Assay Offices. This allows British business direct access to all other Convention country markets. No formal assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Convention in protecting British industry. However, 37% of all UK hallmarked articles in 2013 were Convention marked and these represent 60% of the total of all Convention hallmarked articles.

Secondary information