§ 6. Mr. Gowerasked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will take steps to ensure that in future when a telephone subscriber moves to another house he shall be given high priority for the provision of a telephone there; and that, in all such cases, such a subscriber shall be given the opportunity of retaining a telephone already installed in his new residence.
§ Mr. GammansA removing residential subscriber is given priority over a new residential applicant, but not over a business applicant. When anyone moves to a house where a telephone already exists, the normal rule is to let him keep it, except in certain areas where the waiting list is very long due to a shortage of local lines or exchange equipment.
§ Mr. GowerWhile thanking my hon. Friend for that reply, may I ask whether he agrees that, in normal circumstances and other things being equal, old subscribers do merit some extra consideration?