§ 31. Mr. HOLDSWORTHasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the inconvenience and expense caused to telephone subscribers by the enforced change in their number when the exchange passes over to the automatic system; whether he has received any representations on this subject; and whether he will take any steps to remove this grievance?
§ The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Sir Kingsley Wood)I am aware of the inconvenience which a change of telephone number may involve, but I regret that for technical reasons an alteration in the numbers of some subscribers is inevitable on the conversion of an exchange to automatic working. Such changes are kept to a minimum, and every effort is made to reduce the inconvenience by giving adequate notice of the impending change, and by arranging for calls from another area made to the old number to be diverted to the new number.