Not Long Now - all those countries don't need to say "oui", it is being considered for the messages to be sent directly to the cockpit, and a reduction doesn't necessarily need to be agreed by ATC. I hope good airmanship will rule and if flying free speed ATC will be informed if a change is requested, but in a world where an A320 can be flying anything between .70 and .80, is that a necessity? Fair enough, if a speed is already applied then any change will have to be requested and then that "non" could probably appear.
I would be very surprised if Scottish Area don't have altitude conversion on the radar, all the AC radars further south do. Can't think of where else you may be providing Area control in the UK TMT?? You may think it is "amazingly stupid" and that "its someone in an office somewhere who is trying to keep themselves in a job" but read Nimmer's post, Soringhigh360's first one and Gonzo's contribution, put them all together and you may start to understand why this, or something similar, will be implemented within the next 2 to 3 years.
I would be interested to see any research on how the additional RTF in AC would impact certain sectors, and best not start the debate on how it is to be recorded!