The National Measurement and Regulation Office (NMRO) was an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

of the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

(BIS). Its function were to provide a measurement infrastructure which supports innovation, facilitates fair competition, promotes international trade and protects consumers and the environment.

History

The agency was created as National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) in 1987 from a reorganisation of the Standards Department when it moved from its previous location in central London to a new, purpose-built facility in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

which was officially opened by

the Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain and the peerage of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, most recently as a Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedom ...

on the 9th of April 1987. Until June 28, 2007, it was an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry. It then became part of the newly formed

Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was a UK government department created on 28 June 2007 to take over some of the functions of the Department of Education and Skills and of the Department of Trade and Industry. Its h ...

. In 2009 an agency moved to Department for Business Innovation and Skills and until April 2015 was known as the National Measurement Office (NMO). In April 2015 NMO was renamed to National Measurement and Regulation Office and by 1 April 2016 it was merged with Better Regulation Delivery Office to form Regulatory Delivery in the former Department for Business Innovation and Skills. Since July 2017, Regulatory Delivery has been a directorate in the newly created Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Roles

The NMO and NMRO was responsible for the setting of the strategic direction of the measurement infrastructure, aligning policy and legislation, managing the national scientific and legal metrological activities and representing the UK in international activities on measurement. In addition, the NMO / NMRO acts as a National Enforcement Authority for a range of EU-based environmental legislation and carries out commercial activities which rely on measurement expertise.

Scientific metrology

The Agency had responsibility for the National Measurement System (NMS) until April 2015, which is the UK's national infrastructure of laboratories that are involved with the science and technology of measurement. It has responsibility for maintaining the national primary standards (mass, length, time, temperature etc.) and disseminating the associated measurements and technologies to the UK for trade and measurement purposes.

Legal metrology

The Agency was also responsible for examining and approving new measuring instruments and equipment which are ultimately intended for use in trade in order to establish their compliance with national legislation such as the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and relevant EU legislation. The agency also made available to manufacturers of such equipment a consultancy service, intended to be used throughout different stages of the equipment's development. They also provided calibration and testing services to both local authorities and private businesses, as well as training in aspects of legal metrology to national and international clients.

References

External links