The Price Marking (Amendment) Order 1994 No. 1853

Statutory Instruments

1994 No. 1853

PRICES

The Price Marking (Amendment) Order 1994

Made

13th July 1994

Laid before Parliament

19th July 1994

Coming into force in accordance with article 1

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 4 of the Prices Act 1974(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, having, in accordance with section 2(6) of that Act as applied by subsection (3) of the said section 4, consulted with such organisations representative of interests substantially affected thereby as appear to him to be appropriate, hereby makes the following Order:—

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Price Marking (Amendment) Order 1994 and shall come into force immediately after the coming into force of the Units of Measurement Regulations 1994(2).

Amendment of Orders made under the Prices Act 1974 in 1994, 1995 and 2000

2.—(1) On the coming into force of this Order, the Order specified in Part I of the Schedule to this Order shall be amended in the manner specified in that Part.

(2) On 1st October 1995 the Orders specified in Part II of the Schedule to this Order shall be amended in the manner specified in that Part.

(3) On 1st January 2000 the Order specified in Part III of the Schedule to this Order as amended by paragraphs (1) and (2) above, shall be amended in the manner specified in that Part.

Strathclyde

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Small Firms,

Department of Trade and Industry

13th July 1994

Article 2

SCHEDULE AMENDMENT OF ORDERS MADE UNDER THE PRICES ACT 1974

PART I AMENDMENTS MADE ON THE COMING INTO FORCE OF THIS ORDER

Order	Amendments
The Price Marking Order 1991(3)	For article 7 substitute— “7.— (1) Where the unit price of any food required to be indicated under article 4 or article 5(2) or (3) above is indicated by reference to the kilogram or to 100 grams either— (a) that indication shall be accompanied in close proximity by an indication of what that unit price, calculated in accordance with paragraph (3) below, would be if that food were sold by reference, respectively, to the pound or ¼ lb, or (b) a chart, giving the information described in paragraphs (2) and (4) below, shall be displayed so as to be clearly legible in a conspicuous position in at least one place on that part of the premises where food to which such unit prices refer is displayed and sold. (2) (a) A chart displayed in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) above shall give, in juxtaposed columns, a series of unit prices by reference to the kilogram or to 100 grams and a series by reference, respectively, to the pound or 2 lb, calculated in accordance with paragraph (3) below. The column which refers to the kilogram or to 100 grams shall be to the left of the column which refers to the pound or ¼ lb and each column shall be headed so as to identify that it relates to a unit price as well as the quantity by reference to which that price is given. (b) Where, on any premises, unit prices are indicated either by reference to the kilogram or to 100 grams but not partly by reference to the one and partly by reference to the other a chart displayed in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) above shall only be required to give information relating to the particular quantity, that is to say, the kilogram or 100 grams, to which such unit prices refer. (3) To calculate, for the purpose of the calculations referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (2)(a) above, a unit price by reference to the pound, the unit price indicated by reference to the kilogram shall be multiplied by 0.4536, and to calculate a unit price by reference to ¼ lb, the unit price indicated by reference to 100 grams shall be multiplied by 1.134, so as to produce, as a result of either calculation, a unit price, rounded up to the nearest penny if the calculation produces a sum which includes 0.5 or more of a penny but down if it produces a sum which includes any lesser part of a penny. (4) Where a chart displayed in accordance with paragraph (1)(b) above— (a) displays a series of unit prices by reference to the kilogram, it shall display at least those unit prices that appear in the chart set out in Part I of Schedule 5 to this Order and may, in addition, display other unit prices by reference to the kilogram and the pound, and (b) where a chart displays a series of unit prices by reference to 100 grams it shall display at least those unit prices that appear in the chart set out in Part II of that Schedule and may, in addition, display other unit prices by reference to 100 grams and ¼ lb. (5) The provisions of this article shall cease to have effect in relation to the indication of the unit price of— (a) any food sold otherwise than loose from bulk, on 1st October 1995; (b) any food sold loose from bulk on 1st January 2000.”,
	After Schedule 4 insert— Article 7 “SCHEDULE 5 PART I Unit Price per Kilogram Unit Price per Pound £0.10 £0.05 £0.20 £0.09 £0.30 £0.14 £0.40 £0.18 £0.50 £0.23 £0.60 £0.27 £0.70 £0.32 £0.80 £0.36 £0.90 £0.41 £1.00 £0.45 £2.00 £0.91 £3.00 £1.36 £4.00 £1.81 £5.00 £2.27 £10.00 £4.54 PART II Unit Price per 100 g Unit Price per ¼ lb £0.10 £0.11 £0.20 £0.23 £0.30 £0.34 £0.40 £0.45 £0.50 £0.57 £0.60 £0.68 £0.70 £0.79 £0.80 £0.91 £0.90 £1.02 £1.00 £1.13”.

PART II AMENDMENTS TO BE MADE ON 1ST OCTOBER 1995

Orders	Amendments
The Price Marking (Pre-packed Milk in Vending Machines) Order 1976(4)	In article 1(2) in the definition of “unit price” omit “pint or the price per”. In article 2 for “half a pint” substitute “250 millilitres”.
The Price Marking Order 1991	In article 5 omit paragraph (5)(b). In article 6— in paragraph (a) after “kilogram or” insert “in the case of any such item sold from bulk, by reference to”, in paragraph (b) omit “any” where it appears for the second time and add at the end— “or, in the case of the sale of any such item from bulk, by reference to the pound or the quarter pound (¼ lb) or, in the case of beer, cider, water, lemonade, fruit juice or milk sold in returnable containers, by reference to the pint”, and in paragraph (d) for “any” where it appears for the second time substitute “one” and add at the end— “or in the case of the sale of such items from bulk, by reference to the pound”.
	In article 12 omit the definition of “equivalent price per gallon” and in the definition of “price” omit the words “per gallon or”.
	Omit article 15.
	In Schedule 2 in Part I in paragraph 1 omit sub-paragraph (c) and in sub-paragraph (d) omit “by reference to the litre”, in Part II in paragraph 5(3) omit “of a gallon or” and in paragraph 7 omit the words before “the information referred to”, and in Part III in paragraph 9(2) omit “gallons or” and omit paragraph 10.
	In Schedule 4 for Part II substitute— “PART II UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TO BE USED IN THE CASE OF OTHER ITEMS OF FOOD Kilogram 100 gram (g) litre 100 millilitre (ml)”, and for Part IV substitute— “PART IV UNITS OF MEASUREMENT TO BE USED IN THE CASE OF OTHER ITEMS OF GOODS Tonne kilogram litre cubic metre metre square metre”.

PART III AMENDMENTS TO BE MADE ON 1ST JANUARY 2000

Order

Amendments

The Price Marking Order 1991

In article 6— in paragraph (a) omit the words after “kilogram”, in paragraph (b) for the words after “Schedule” where it appears for the second time substitute “or, in the case of milk sold in returnable containers, by reference to the pint”, and in paragraph (d) omit the words after “Schedule” where it appears for the second time. Omit article 7. In Schedule 1 in Part I omit the references to quantities given in imperial units of measurement in column (3) in respect of the goods numbered 1, 3, 4 and 5 in column (1). In Schedule 4 in the heading to Part I omit the words “OR POUNDS”. Omit Schedule 5.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends subordinate legislation made under the Prices Act 1974.

On its coming into force it substitutes a new article 7 in the Price Marking Order 1991 (“the 1991 Order”) which required any indication of the unit price of food given by reference to a metric unit of measurement to be accompanied by a unit price given by reference to an imperial unit. The new article 7, substituted by article 2(1) of this Order, provides instead two new requirements that are alternatives to each other.

Unit prices of food given by reference to the kilogram or to 100 grams must be accompanied either by unit prices given by reference, respectively, to the pound (lb) or the ¼ lb or they must be accompanied by the display, on the premises where the food is sold, of at least one price conversion chart which will enable comparisons to be made between specimen metric and imperial unit prices.

These alternatives will apply wherever food is sold loose from bulk until 1st January 2000 but will cease to apply to food sold otherwise on 1st October 1995.

Article 2(2) of the Order amends, on 1st October 1995, provisions of the 1991 Order and the Price Marking (Pre-packed Milk in Vending Machines) Order 1976. Their amendment is required by the amendments made by Council Directive 89/617/EEC (OJ No. L357, 7.12.89, p.28) to Council Directive 80/181/EEC (OJ No. L39, 15.2.80, p.40) (“the Directive”) which relates to the use of units of measurement for “economic, public health, public safety or administrative purposes”.

Those provisions of the 1991 Order which relate to the price marking of petrol by reference to the gallon are amended or revoked on 1st October 1995 so as to discontinue the obligation, imposed by article 15 of the 1991 Order, to display gallon equivalent prices. Amendments are also made to article 6 of the 1991 Order on 1st October 1995 by article 2(2) of this Order to permit the use of the pound (lb) and the ounce in connection with the unit pricing of goods (including food) sold loose from bulk until 1st January 2000. Article 6 is further amended by article 2(3) of this Order so as to permit the continued use of the pint in connection with the price marking of milk in a returnable bottle without a fixed time limit.

A Compliance Cost Assessment of the impact that this Order will have on business will be available in the libraries of the Houses of Parliament once the Order, having been made, is laid before Parliament and from the Consumer Affairs Division of the Department of Trade and Industry, Room 407, 10-18 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0NN.

(1)

1974 c. 24; section 4 was amended by the Price Commission Act 1977 (c. 33), section 16.

(2)

S.I. 1994/2867.

(3)

S.I. 1991/1382, amended by S.I. 1991/1690.

(4)

S.I. 1976/796, amended by article 5 of S.I. 1991/1382.