§ 84. Sir P. Hurdasked the Postmaster-General when the telephone service which was interrupted by the mid-winter storms will be re-established in rural areas as in Wiltshire; and whether rebate of rental will be made to subscribers whose telephones have been out of use?
§ The Postmaster-General (Mr. W. S. Morrison)The damage caused by the storm at the end of February has been generally repaired, although there is a small number of lines still out of order in the West and South West (including cases in Wiltshire), where the damage was exceptionally heavy. It is hoped that service will be completely restored very shortly. As regards rebates of rental, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my predecessor on 21st February to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Wakefield).
§ Sir P. HurdIs my right hon. Friend using his influence to get these repairs finished as quickly as possible?
§ Mr. MorrisonYes, Sir. I should like to use this opportunity of paying a tribute to the men engaged in this work. There were 60,000 lines put out of order, and yesterday the number still out of order was only 448.