Scotland

HC Deb 02 February 1955 vol 536 cc1071-3

18. Sir W. Darling

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what records are available of telephones required and telephones installed in the city of Edinburgh in the years 1953, 1954, and 1955, respectively.

Mr. Gammans

Some 4,000 applications were received in 1953 and 4,600 telephones were fitted. In 1954, the figures were 5,500 and 6,100. Demand for this year is estimated at 5,700, and we plan to connect 6,500

Sir W. Darling

Is my hon. Friend satisfied with that record? Does he propose to continue to exceed it?

Mr. Gammans

I hope that my hon. Friend is satisfied with the record, as there was a reduction in the waiting list in Edinburgh in the past year of 1,023.

22. Sir W. Darling

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what progress is being made in the latest available figures in installing new telephones in Scotland; and how this rate of installation compares with the record of his Department of a year ago.

Mr. Gammans

Thirty-three thousand telephones were installed in Scotland last year, as compared with 28,000 in the previous year, an increase of 18 per cent. We plan to step up the supply this year to over 38,000.

Sir W. Darling

Is my hon. Friend aware that he is making a reputation for himself as one of the most effective and businesslike of our Ministers?

Mr. J. N. Browne

Is my hon. Friend the Assistant Postmaster-General aware that one of my constituents has been told that he will have to wait four years for a telephone?

Mr. Gammans

I am sorry that my hon. Friend has reduced this matter to such a sordid level after the compliment I received from below the Gangway. But it does not mean that merely because one individual applicant has to wait the general average is bad.

Mr. Ness Edwards

Will the Minister see that there is an adequate supply of telephones at Murrayfield next Saturday?

Mr. John MacLeod

Is my hon. Friend satisfied that the rural areas are getting their fair percentage of telephones, as there is an increasing feeling that people in the remote areas should have a great deal more preference than people who get an extra telephone round the corner in the city?

Mr. Gammans

I appreciate what my hon. Friend says. As I have pointed out to the House before, normally we can put in 16 urban subscribers for one rural subscriber. Although we try to give every facility that we can to the urban applicant, we must try to keep a balance between the two.