The National Weights & Measures Laboratory have simplified the 1985 Weights & Measures Act by: Enabling manufacturers to "self verify" equipment they produce prior to placing on the market, instead of having to pay Trading Standards Officers to verify (stamp) the equipment, through the Deregulation (Weights & Measures) Order 1999 (SI 1999/503); Simplified the Packaged Goods Regulations (removing some particularly prescriptive requirements). Work is underway to simplify the regulations on quantity labelling of foodstuffs; Implemented the Measuring Instruments Directive, which came into force 30 Oct/2006 along with the Non-automatic Weighing Instruments Directive, reducing costs for manufacturers of measuring instruments in that a single approval will now give them access to markets for new instruments in all EU States; Proposed the removal of some information requirements as being incompatible with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive as part of their implementation of the Directive in 2008.
