Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

Motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of switching to metric measurements for distance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of switching to metric measurements for distance.

Motion to consider. Agreed to on division (9 votes to 8).

Motion to consider. Agreed to on division (9 votes to 8).

My Lords, I forget who it was who said, “Never apologise, never explain”, but I will start with an apology for the sheer size of this SI, which has received some comment—not just at this meeting, but at the meeting I held last week. I am grateful for the comments...

My Lords, I forget who it was who said, “Never apologise, never explain”, but I will start with an apology for the sheer size of this SI, which has received some comment—not just at this meeting, but at the meeting I held last week. I am grateful for the comments...

My Lords, I add my thanks to the Minister for conducting a consultation on this “minor” piece of legislation last week and for his explanatory letter to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, which has been passed on to me. However, after the meeting last week I have rather more questions...

My Lords, I add my thanks to the Minister for conducting a consultation on this “minor” piece of legislation last week and for his explanatory letter to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, which has been passed on to me. However, after the meeting last week I have rather more questions...

My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 7 February 2019.

The protection of consumers from unsafe products is at the heart of the legislation before us today. It has a single yet crucial objective—to ensure that, in the event of no deal, the UK continues to have a...

My Lords, these regulations were laid before the House on 7 February 2019.

The protection of consumers from unsafe products is at the heart of the legislation before us today. It has a single yet crucial objective—to ensure that, in the event of no deal, the UK continues to have a...

My Lords, it is not the navigation but the strain on our hands.

My Lords, it is not the navigation but the strain on our hands.

I make no comment.

I assure the Committee that this approach has been designed to increase understanding and reduce the number of similar instruments that would otherwise be needed. Many cross-cutting issues are the same for different products. These have similar definitions, obligations and requirements. As a result they require similar...

I make no comment.

I assure the Committee that this approach has been designed to increase understanding and reduce the number of similar instruments that would otherwise be needed. Many cross-cutting issues are the same for different products. These have similar definitions, obligations and requirements. As a result they require similar...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for setting out the Government’s position on this SI. When I first lifted the SI, which I understand weighs 4.5 kilograms, my first thought—

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for setting out the Government’s position on this SI. When I first lifted the SI, which I understand weighs 4.5 kilograms, my first thought—

The figure that I have is 2.54 kilograms, but I am quite happy to be corrected.

4.45 pm

The figure that I have is 2.54 kilograms, but I am quite happy to be corrected.

4.45 pm

Oh, 2.54. I was told that it was 4.5 kilograms, so the figure has doubled. My first thought was: thank goodness for the Explanatory Memorandum. I tried reading the instrument without the Explanatory Memorandum just to torture myself, but I did not get very far without a stiff drink.

When I...

Oh, 2.54. I was told that it was 4.5 kilograms, so the figure has doubled. My first thought was: thank goodness for the Explanatory Memorandum. I tried reading the instrument without the Explanatory Memorandum just to torture myself, but I did not get very far without a stiff drink.

When I...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, because we overlapped for at least five years as Members of the European Parliament. The noble Baroness referred to cosmetics; I think we will both remember the fevered exchange we had with constituents on animal testing. I echo her remarks.

I...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, because we overlapped for at least five years as Members of the European Parliament. The noble Baroness referred to cosmetics; I think we will both remember the fevered exchange we had with constituents on animal testing. I echo her remarks.

I...

My Lords, I am a member of the statutory instruments Sub-Committee B, along with my noble friend Lord Rooker, who is in his place. I want first to thank the Minister for arranging the briefing meeting that took place last week. It is quite an unusual event for a full-scale...

My Lords, I am a member of the statutory instruments Sub-Committee B, along with my noble friend Lord Rooker, who is in his place. I want first to thank the Minister for arranging the briefing meeting that took place last week. It is quite an unusual event for a full-scale...

My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, I am a vice-president of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. The other interest

I declare—as it is pertinent to the remarks I want to make—is my chairmanship of the government-appointed national accreditation body, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, or UKAS. In that...

My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, I am a vice-president of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. The other interest

I declare—as it is pertinent to the remarks I want to make—is my chairmanship of the government-appointed national accreditation body, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, or UKAS. In that...

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in thanking the Minister for organising the meeting held last week on this SI—as has been said, it was very useful in covering a lot of the ground that otherwise would have needed to be raised today. It is interesting to have had...

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in thanking the Minister for organising the meeting held last week on this SI—as has been said, it was very useful in covering a lot of the ground that otherwise would have needed to be raised today. It is interesting to have had...

Will the Minister be kind enough to send me the list of organisations, businesses, market surveillance authorisations and consumer organisations involved in the consultation?

Will the Minister be kind enough to send me the list of organisations, businesses, market surveillance authorisations and consumer organisations involved in the consultation?

I will certainly write to the noble Baroness on that and I hope that we can give further and better particulars, as they say in the law. She will then know exactly whom we have spoken to and I hope that she will feel content that we have gone out...

I will certainly write to the noble Baroness on that and I hope that we can give further and better particulars, as they say in the law. She will then know exactly whom we have spoken to and I hope that she will feel content that we have gone out...