Met Observations at LHR

[DC10RealMan]

I was chatting to a friend recently and was told that the METARs at Heathrow which I understand are done at the moment by Met Office staff as qualified Met Observers are to be replaced by ATC personnel. I have the highest regard for the ATC staff at LHR as one who flies regularly in and out of LHR, however as I understand it the ATC staff who will undertake this duty are not going to be trained by the Met Office as Met Observers which means that they undertake a two week course at Exeter, but undergo an 8 hour CBT course followed by 8 hours practical training for reasons of "Economy". Their duties will be backed up by an semi-automated system which does some of the observations, but the human will have the final decision about the METAR. I mean no disrespect to the staff concerned, but I would like the ATIS observation to be done by someone who has done an "approved" course and therefore I am able to quantify the observation. I also wondered about Approach minima and the "status" of LVPs. I wondered what other crews thought about this or am I being unduly worried.