32. Sir N. Stewart Sandemanasked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that under the regulations a public 665 telephone call-box may not be erected in any country village which has no Post Office unless a guarantee of £4per annum is given, whereas if a branch Post Office is established in any village a public telephone call-box is erected as a matter of course under no guarantee, he will reconsider the situation?
§ Major TryonCall Offices in rural areas are highly unremunerative and there must be some reasonable indication of public advantage before the Post Office can undertake to carry the losses involved. The existence of a Post Office in a village is prima facie evidence of the need for telephone facilities and arrangements have been made on this basis. Further extension of the facilities would increase the losses considerably and it is desirable that the local authorities concerned should be satisfied regarding the necessity for the facility to the extent of paying the nominal amount of per annum. I regret that I cannot see my way to alter the practice.