§ 30. Mr. Thomas Macphersonasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the long delays at present being experienced by Romford subscribers in securing response from the Romford telephone exchange; and what steps he proposes to take to remedy this unsatisfactory position.
§ The Postmaster-General (Mr. Wilfred Paling)I regret that the quality of service at the Romford telephone exchange is not as good as I should like. This is due to shortage of trained operating staff and to the need for additional equipment. Vigorous steps are being taken to overcome both these difficulties and I hope that the service will shortly begin to show a steady improvement.
§ Mr. MacphersonIs my right hon. Friend aware that the number of subscribers have taken a note of the time it takes to answer the bell, and have found that it is five minutes or more? Does he not agree that that is unfair to the subscribers and results not only in waste of time, but in some cases in serious loss? Will he press the exchange to give a better service?
§ Mr. PalingI shall be glad if the hon. Member will let me have the facts.