§ 21. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Postmaster-General whether his attention 1295 has been drawn to the unsatisfactory working of the Elmbridge telephone exchange; whether he has considered the representations made to him by the Surbiton Borough Council on this subject with particular reference to inadequate service given at the time of a recent fatal casualty; and what action he proposes to take in the matter.
§ Mr. Wilfred PalingService at Elm-bridge exchange has been affected by heavy losses of operating staff during the past year. In spite of this, our regular sampling of the service shows that there has been a steady improvement and I hope that, as the new staff gains further experience, this improvement will be continued. I have considered the representations made by the Surbiton Borough Council, in regard to the recent fatal casualty, and I am satisfied that there was no avoidable delay in answering the call for the ambulance.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterCan the right hon. Gentleman explain why the service given by this exchange is so conspicuously worse than that of all other exchanges in the neighbourhood; and is he aware that his predecessor gave me an undertaking a year ago that the staff would be increased?
§ Mr. PalingI do not think it is necessary to increase the staff, although it may have something to do with it. I believe there has been a 50 per cent. turnover in staff in this neighbourhood, with the result that a lot of them are untrained. That has a lot to do with it. However, in the last week or two the service has been improving, and I hope it will improve still more.