§ 15. Mr. Speirasked the Postmaster-General how many miles of telephone cable in Northumberland are carried by 1310 poles or pylons employed jointly for the distribution of electricity.
§ Mr. AlportAbout 29 miles carried on 410 poles.
§ Mr. SpeirDoes my hon. Friend not consider that to be a rather disappointing total? Is it not quite feasible to carry both electricity cables and telephone cabes on the same pylons or the same poles? Will he, therefore, get his engineers in the Northumberland area to consult the Electricity Board about it, because too large numbers of people in rural areas are still waiting for both telephone and electricity services?
§ Mr. AlportWe are in process of negotiating a new agreement with electricity boards in all parts of the country about the sharing of poles and pylons. During the year which ended 31st May, 1955, that policy was carried out in 6,000 new cases involving joint use of 15,000 new poles. However, I would remind my hon. Friend that in certain circumstances, for reasons of danger and interference with the telephone service, it is not possible to carry out joint user of the type that he envisages.