§ MR. CARR-GOMM (Southwark, Rotherhithe)To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the inconvenience caused to numbers of persons who, having signed the form of application for a private telephone apparatus, have had to wait a considerable time, in some cases as much as six weeks, before being able to use the telephone; whether he has considered the necessity of largely augumenting the staff of this department in view of the increasing number of subscribers' applications to be complied with; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) So long a period as six weeks would not be occupied in the completion of a Post Office telephone exchange line, unless there were some exceptional difficulty in construction or in obtaining way leaves from local authorities. The completion of a line provided recently for the hon. Member was unfortunately delayed owing to the necessity for laying a new main cable on a section of the route between his house and the exchange, and some further delay occurred owing to the Christmas holidays. The circumstances were, however, exceptional. The Post Office engineering staff is receiving large additions to provide for the increasing telephone work.