Hallmarking

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill Excerpts

Wednesday 4th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Wilcox]

The assay office has always made a very special contribution, as is being shown all through the House today. I am happy to have this exchange sent back.

[Lord Palmer of Childs Hill]

My Lords, I welcome the Minister’s reply about the length of consultation, but would it not be a good idea to extend the consultation to something like 100 years in order to protect the value of the hallmarking of antiques? To remove hallmarking would destroy things like “Antiques Roadshow”.

[Baroness Wilcox]

My Lords, this ambitious project, which has been opened up to the public by the Government, is being conducted over a two-year period, during which time some 21,000 individual regulations will be scrutinised. I say again that this affects the whole of the retail sector. I am not really sure—none of us is—why the hallmarking industry feels under such threat, but certainly, from the responses that we have had in support of hallmarking, it can be seen that the general public hold it very dear. Although I cannot say at this stage that things will be done, it is part of the whole project.