Weights and Measures Act 1985

Miscellaneous and supplementary U.K.

86 Regulations and orders. E+W+S

(1) Any power to make orders or regulations conferred on the Secretary of State by this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and any such order or regulations may make different provision for different circumstances.

(2) Before making—

(a) an order under any provision of this Act except section 11(16), F1 . . . F2 ... 69(4) or 94(2) or paragraph 7 of Schedule 11, or

(b) regulations under section 9 F3 ...,

the Secretary of State shall consult such organisations as appear to him to be representative of interests substantially affected by the order or regulations.

(3) In the case of an order made under section 1(3) or 8(6) above which relates to imperial units, measures or weights, the Secretary of State in acting under subsection (2) above shall have particular regard to the need to consult organisations representative of the interests of consumers.

F4 (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) An order under any provision of this Act except section 11(16), F1 . . . 69(4) or 94(2) or paragraph 7 of Schedule 11 shall not be made unless a draft of the order has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

(6) Any statutory instrument containing regulations made under this Act shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 86(2)(a)(5) repealed (1.1.1996) by 1994 c. 40, s. 81, Sch. 17; S.I. 1995/2835, art. 2

F2 Word in s. 86(2)(a) omitted (6.4.2006) by virtue of The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(14)(a) (with reg. 21)

F3 Words in s. 86(2)(b) omitted (6.4.2006) by virtue of The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(14)(b) (with reg. 21)

F4 S. 86(4) repealed (6.4.2006) by The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(14)(c) (with reg. 21)

87 Secretary of State to report to Parliament. E+W+S

The Secretary of State shall from time to time, and in any event not less than once in every five years, lay before each House of Parliament a report on the exercise of his functions under this ActF5 ....

Textual Amendments

F5 Words in s. 87 omitted (6.4.2006) by virtue of The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(15) (with reg. 21)

88 Application to Crown. E+W+S

(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide for the application to the Crown of such of the provisions of this Act or of any instrument made under it as may be specified in the Order, with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications as may be so specified.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, an Order in Council under this section may make special provision for the enforcement of any provisions applied by the Order, and, in particular, as to the person liable to be proceeded against for any offence under any such provision.

(3) A statutory instrument containing an Order in Council made under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

89 Saving for use of certain units in wholesale transactions. E+W+S

(1) Except as the Secretary of State may by order otherwise provide, and subject to subsection (2) below, nothing in this Act shall make unlawful the use in any transaction, by agreement between the parties to that transaction, of any unit of measurement which—

(a) was customarily used for trade in the like transactions immediately before 31st July 1963, and

(b) is not inconsistent with anything for the time being contained in Schedule 1 to this Act,

notwithstanding that the unit in question is not included in Parts I to V of that schedule.

(2) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to—

(a) any retail transaction, or

(b) any transaction with respect to which provision to the contrary effect is made by or under Part IV of this Act.

90 Saving for certain rights in City of London. E+W+S

(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, nothing in this Act shall affect any rights of the mayor and commonalty and citizens of the City of London or of the Lord Mayor of the City of London for the time being with respect to the stamping or sealing of weights and measures, or with respect to the gauging of wine or oil or other gaugeable liquors.

(2) A person using weighing or measuring equipment within the City of London shall not be required to have that equipment passed or stamped by more than one authority.

91 Validity of contracts. E+W+S

No contract for the sale or carriage for reward of any goods shall be void by reason only of a contravention of any provision contained in or made under this Act with respect to any document which is, or is required by that provision to be, associated with the goods.

92 Spelling of “gram”, etc. U.K.

No provision contained in or made under this or any other Act prevents the use of “gram” or “gramme” as alternative ways of spelling that unit, and the same applies for other units in the metric system which are compounds of “gram”.

93 Powers under other Acts with respect to marking of food. U.K.

Any power to make provision by statutory instrument with respect to the marking of any food which is conferred on any person other than the Secretary of State by any Act passed before 31st July 1963 or by the [F6 Food Safety Act 1990]shall not extend to the marking of such food with a statement of its quantity by weight or other measurement or by number.

Textual Amendments

F6 Words substituted by Food Safety Act 1990 (c.16, SIF 53:1, 2), s. 59(1), Sch. 3 para. 34

94 General interpretation. E+W+S

(1) Except where the context otherwise requires, in this Act—

• [F7 “approved verifier” has the meaning given by section 11(6A) above;]

• “capacity measurement” means measurement in terms of a unit of measurement included in Part IV of Schedule 1 to this Act;

• “check-weighed”, in relation to any vehicle, means weighed with its load by means of the nearest suitable and available weighing equipment, and weighed again after it has been unloaded by means of the same or other suitable weighing equipment;

• “chief inspector” means a chief inspector of weights and measures appointed under section 72(1) above;

• “container” F8 ... includes any form of packaging of goods for sale as a single item, whether by way of wholly or partly enclosing the goods or by way of attaching the goods to, or winding the goods round, some other article, and in particular includes a wrapper or confining band;

• “contravention”, in relation to any requirement, includes a failure to comply with that requirement, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

• “credentials”, in relation to an inspector, means authority in writing from the local weights and measures authority who appointed him for the exercise by that inspector of powers conferred on inspectors by this Act:

• [F9 “[F10 [F11 Department for Business and Trade] standards]” means the secondary, tertiary and coinage standards maintained by the Secretary of State under section 3 above;]

• “drugs” and “food” have the same meanings respectively as for the purposes of the [F12 Food Safety Act 1990];

• [F13 “the FIC Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers;]

• “gross weight”, in relation to any goods, means the aggregate weight of the goods and any container in or on which they are made up;

• “indication of quantity”, in relation to any container in or on which goods are made up, means a statement in writing to the effect that those goods are of, or of not less than, a specified quantity by net weight, gross weight or other measurement or by number, as the case may require;

• “industrial use”, in relation to any goods, means the use of those goods in the manufacture of, or for incorporation in, goods of a different description in the course of the carrying on of a business;

• “inspector” means an inspector of weights and measures appointed under section 72(1) above;

• “intoxicating liquor” means spirits, beer, wine, made-wine or cider as defined in section 1 of the M1 Alcoholic Liquor Duties Act 1979;

• “local standard” means a standard maintained under section 4 above;

• “mark” includes label;

• “occupier”, in relation to any stall, vehicle, ship or aircraft or in relation to the use of any place for any purpose, means the person for the time being in charge of the stall, vehicle, ship or aircraft or, as the case may be, the person for the time being using that place for that purpose;

• [F14 “packaged goods regulations” means the Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006;]

• “premises”, except in section 45 above, includes any place and any stall, vehicle, ship or aircraft;

• “pre-packed” means made up in advance ready for retail sale in or on a container;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by the Secretary of State by regulations’

• “secondary standard” means a standard maintained under section 3(2) above;

• “ship” includes any boat and any other description of vessel used in navigation;

• “stamp” means[F15 , subject to section 15A(4) above,] a mark for use as evidence of the passing of weighing or measuring equipment as fit for use for trade, whether applied by impressing, casting, engraving, etching, branding, or otherwise, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

• F16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• F16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• “tertiary standard” means a standard maintained under section 3(3) above;

• “testing equipment” means testing equipment maintained under section 5 above;

• “United Kingdom primary standard” means a standard maintained under section 2 above;

• “use for trade” shall be construed in accordance with section 7 above;

• “weighing or measuring equipment” means equipment for measuring in terms of length, area, volume, capacity, weight or number, whether or not the equipment is constructed to give an indication of the measurement made or other information determined by reference to that measurement;

• “working standard” means a standard maintained under section 5 above.

(2) In any provision of this Act “designated country” means such, if any, of the following, that is to say, Northern Ireland, any of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as the Secretary of State, having regard to the law for the time being in force there, thinks it proper to designate for the purposes of that provision by order.

(3) On any premises where articles of any description are—

(a) made up in advance ready for retail sale in or on a container, or

(b) kept or stored for sale after being so made up,

any article of that description found made up in or on a container shall be deemed to be pre-packed unless the contrary is proved; and it shall not be sufficient proof of the contrary to show that the container has not been marked in accordance with the requirements of this Act or any instrument made under it with respect to the pre-packing of such articles.

(4) Except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to any person, other than a reference to an inspector, shall be construed as a reference to that person or some other person acting on his behalf in the matter in question.

Textual Amendments

F7 S. 94(1): definition of “approved verifier” inserted (29.3.1999) by S.I. 1999/503, art. 2(14)

F8 Words in s. 94(1) omitted (6.4.2006) by virtue of The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(16)(a) (with reg. 21)

F9 Words in s. 94(1) substituted (12.12.2007) by The Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families, for Innovation, Universities and Skills and for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3224), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 4(2)

F10 Words in s. 94(1) substituted (9.11.2016) by The Secretaries of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for International Trade and for Exiting the European Union and the Transfer of Functions (Education and Skills) Order 2016 (S.I. 2016/992), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 5(3) (with art. 13)

F11 Words in s. 94(1) substituted (3.5.2023) by The Secretaries of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for Science, Innovation and Technology, for Business and Trade, and for Culture, Media and Sport and the Transfer of Functions (National Security and Investment Act 2021 etc) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/424), art. 1(2), Sch. para. 6(3) (with art. 17)

F12 Words substituted by Food Safety Act 1990 (c.16, SIF 53:1, 2), s. 59(1), Sch. 3 para. 34

F13 Words in s. 94(1) substituted (1.2.2019) by The Weights and Measures etc. (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/5), regs. 1, 2(2)

F14 Words in s. 94(1) inserted (6.4.2006) by The Weights and Measures (Packaged Goods) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/659), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. 2(16)(b) (with reg. 21)

F15 S. 94(1): words in the definition of “stamp” inserted (29.3.1999) by S.I. 1999/503, art. 4(3)

F16 Definitions of "standard scale" and "statutory maximum" in s. 94(1) repealed (5.11.1993) by 1993 c. 50, s. 1(1), Sch. 1 Pt. XIV

Marginal Citations

M1 1979 c. 4.

95 Application to Northern Ireland. U.K.

Schedule 10 to this Act shall have effect in relation to Northern Ireland but, except as provided in that Schedule, this Act shall not extend to Northern Ireland.

96 Transitional provisions and savings. U.K.

(1) Schedule 11 to this Act (which contains transitional provisions and savings) shall have effect.

(2) The re-enactment—

(a) in section 84(3) of, and Part IV of Schedule 5 to, this Act, of provisions contained in the M2 Weights and Measures (Solid Fuel) (Carriage by Rail) Order 1966, and

(b) in paragraphs 12 to 17, 22 and 25 of Schedule 11 to this Act, of provisions contained in the M3 Units of Measurement Regulations 1978 and the M4 Units of Measurement Regulations 1980,

shall be without prejudice to the validity of those provisions; and any question as to the validity of any of those provisions shall be determined as if the re-enacting provision of this Act were contained in a statutory instrument made under the powers under which the original provision was made.

(3) The provisions of Schedule 11 to this Act are without prejudice to the operation of sections 16 and 17 of the M5 Interpretation Act 1978 (which relate to the effect of repeals).

Marginal Citations

M2 S.I. 1966/238.

M3 S.I. 1978/484.

M4 S.I. 1980/1070.

M5 1978 c. 30.

97 Consequential amendments. U.K.

Schedule 12 to this Act shall have effect.

98 Repeals and revocations. U.K.

(1) The enactments specified in Part I of Schedule 13 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) The instruments specified in Part II of Schedule 13 to this Act are hereby revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

99 Short title and commencement. U.K.

(1) This Act may be cited as the Weights and Measures Act 1985.

(2) F17 . . . this Act shall come into force at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

Textual Amendments

F17 Words in s. 99(2) repealed (1.1.1996) by 1994 c. 40, s. 81, Sch. 17; S.I. 1995/2835, art. 2