§ 16. Mr. Nabarroasked the Postmaster-General, in view of the value of the new WEA telephone service, and its special interest to agriculture and horticulture, what plans he is making to extend the service to such areas as Worcestershire, where agricultural and horticultural production is of a high order and economic importance.
§ Mr. AlportMy right hon. Friend is considering the possibility of extending the weather service. People in Worcestershire can, of course, obtain weather forecasts for their areas by telephone from the Birmingham or Gloucester meteorological offices.
§ Mr. NabarroYes, but the principle involved in this Question is that if public funds are to be spent on the extension of a service of this kind, it should bring some economic result. Would my hon. Friend consider urgently providing services of this kind much more extensive than those existing at present for areas of high productive value in the horticultural and agricultural industries?
§ Mr. AlportIn view of the fact that 157,077 calls were received on this service in the first four days and eight hours, we feel that it will, from the Post Office point of view, have an economic result. My hon. Friend's point about extending it to help agriculture will be considered sympathetically, but we must first have an experimental period in London.