Issues relating to the enforcement and deregulation of Part V of the Weights and Measures Act 1985: An exploratory study involving Trading Standards Officers in Scotland

In July 1999, a consultation paper was issued by the DTI relating to the modernisation of Part V of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. This was in response to issues concerning the complexity of the legislation, the burden it places on traders, and its appropriateness in the modern trading environment. The research described in this was begun shortly before publication of the document, with the aim of establishing the views of Trading Standards Officers on current problems with the legislation and its enforcement, from the point of view of those who are responsible for its enforcement, and for bringing prosecutions. The research was carried out via a survey, results of which were analysed using exploratory Principal Components Analysis, t‐tests, and correlation analysis. Path analysis was used as a final stage in order to produce a model of the factors that significantly influence officers’ perceptions of the legislation/enforcement.