Catalogue description Records of the National Physical Laboratory

Responsibility for the National Physical Laboratory passed from the Department of Trade and Industry to the Department of Industry in 1974. The Laboratory is the UK's national standards laboratory and the focus of the National Measurement System. It also provides standards and precision methods of measurement over a wide range of physical quantities for industry, government and universities. It also carries out work in the field of mathematical applications, computing and properties and applications of materials. It gives technical and policy support to government particularly in the context of regulation and standards.

Within the Laboratory in 1975 the Inorganic and Metallic Structures Division was merged with the Chemical Standards Division, and the Maritime Science and Ship Divisions were transferred to the National Maritime Institute Ltd which in July 1976 took over responsibility for research into the performance, handling and safety of ships and offshore structures. A new unit was created in 1978, the National Testing Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (NATLAS), to give accredited status to laboratory testing houses. It merged with the British Calibration Service at the National Physical Laboratory in 1986 to become the National Measurement Accreditation Service (NAMAS). NAMAS was privatised in 1995. The Chemical Standards Division was disbanded in 1980. A new Planning, Marketing and Administration Division was created in 1982.

In 1991 the laboratory became an executive agency of the Department of Trade and Industry.

From 1996 the National Physical Laboratory has operated under contract by NPL Management Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Group Plc.

As of 1 January 2015 the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) enters into a new and closer relationship with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the new owner of NPL Management Limited.

Scientific research is often limited by what can practically be measured. This is one of the factors making NPL a critical national asset. NPL's research pushes the boundaries of measurement and works with industry to apply this knowledge for the benefit of the UK economy.

The move to government ownership is an important step in achieving the government aims set out at the start of this change programme, which were to:

• bring greater expertise and intellectual flexibility to strengthen the laboratory's science.
• make better use of NPL's existing facilities by strengthening the laboratory's links with its academic partners, through new and existing collaborations with academia and industry.
• encourage greater interaction with business, driven by closer integration of existing innovation infrastructure and commercial activity.
• make better use of the site at Teddington by granting partners access to spare capacity.
• allow for the formation of a dedicated applied science postgraduate institute.

BIS is currently continuing its discussions with the Universities of Surrey and Strathclyde to develop the strategic partnership which will help achieve these aims.