Request ID: FOI-1750-2223 Date published: 09 November 2022
You asked
In accordance with the FOI act, please provide a breakdown of contingencies put in place if the government’s switch to imperial measurements for purchasing goods goes ahead.
Please provide a brief summary of each contingency/measure and the amount of money set aside for each contingency.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-1750-2223
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 20th October 2022 asking for information about a potential switch to imperial measurements for purchasing goods.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.
Specifically you asked:
“In accordance with the FOI act, please provide a breakdown of contingencies put in place if the government’s switch to imperial measurements for purchasing goods goes ahead. Please provide a brief summary of each contingency/measure and the amount of money set aside for each contingency.”
TfL has not developed any specific contingencies for this potential change and therefore we do not hold the breakdown requested.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy conducted a public consultation on ‘Choice on units of measurement’ (see here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/choice-on-units-of-measurement-markings-and-sales) in the summer of 2022. As stated in the consultation document, this was “... an early-stage consultation to gather views and evidence and will feed into the review on the current law on units of measurement”. Once the Government has published the outcome of the consultation exercise TfL will review the need for specific contingencies and address that accordingly.
Note that in more general terms our templates and processes are adaptable for alternative units of measurement and can be customised to convert units of measurements from metric to imperial, for example, as may be necessary. In terms of any potential inflationary pressure created by any proposals, this would be dealt as part of our treatment of general inflation via our monitoring of cost intelligence sources, discussions with contractors and feedback from tender prices.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely,
David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
