Weights and Measures Act 1985

1 Units of measurement

(1) The yard or the metre shall be the unit of measurement of length and the pound or the kilogram shall be the unit of measurement of mass by reference to which any measurement involving a measurement of length or mass shall be made in the United Kingdom ; and—

(a) the yard shall be 0.9144 metre exactly;

(b) the pound shall be 0.453 592 37 kilogram exactly.

(2) Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for defining for the purposes of measurements falling to be made in the United Kingdom the units of measurement set out in that Schedule; and for the purposes of any measurement of weight falling to be so made, the weight of any thing may be expressed, by reference to the units of measurement set out in Part V of that Schedule, in the same terms as its mass.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, the Secretary of State may by order amend Schedule 1 to this Act by adding to or removing from Parts I to VI of that Schedule any unit of measurement of length, of area, of volume, of capacity, or of mass or weight, as the case may be.

(4) An order under subsection (3) above shall not remove—

(a) from Part I of Schedule 1, the mile, foot or inch, or

(b) from Part IV of that Schedule, the gallon or pint,

but this subsection is without prejudice to section 8 (6)(b) below.

(5) An order under subsection (3) above may contain such transitional or other supplemental or incidental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State expedient.