Metrication Board - Establishment of The Board

Establishment of The Board

In March 1966 the Standing Joint Committee on Metrication was appointed and on 26 July 1968, when accepting the committee's report, the government announced that:

• The target date for the completion of the metrication program was 1975.
• An advisory Metrication Board would be set up.
• Legislation would be passed where necessary.
• There would be no compensation – costs would be borne where they fell.

The Metrication Board was set up with a mandate to "consult, advise, inform, stimulate and coordinate". Its mandate specifically excluded a campaigning role. The board held its first meeting in May 1969 under the chairmanship of Lord Ritchie-Calder when eight committees were set up to deal with the most important sectors of British Industry:,

• Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Land
• Distribution, Food and Consumer Goods Industries
• Education and Industrial Training
• Engineering Industries
• Fuel and Power Industries
• Industrial Materials and Construction Industries
• Transport and Communications Industries
• Information Policy

By the time the board was set up, much of the groundwork, especially rewriting of many British Standards using metric units had been done and many of the industries that stood to benefit from metrication had already metricated, or had a metrication program in progress.

Traditionally the British Government had imposed little regulation on British industry – standards were usually defined by the industry itself, often in conjunction with the British Standards Institution. Legislation relating to units of measure were normally directed at trade with industry being allowed to develop its own standards.

After the general election and change of government in 1970, the incoming government announced its intention to continue to "encourage these voluntary developments, including the use of metric specifications for public purposes as soon as consultation with the suppliers shows this to be practicable".