§ 10. Mr. Simmonsasked the Postmaster-General if he will take steps to expedite the provision of a new permanent telephone exchange for the Brierley Hill, Staffordshire, area in order to lessen the two and a half years wait indicated in his letter to the Brierley Hill Urban District Council, especially having regard to his inability to bridge the gap by providing a mobile exchange.
Dr. HillA start has been made on the building for the new exchange, but I cannot promise that it can be completed and the equipment installed in less than two and a half years. As the hon. Member knows, new cables also are required in the area before the majority of the waiting applicants can be served and, in view of other pressing demands on our resources, it will be from two to three years before these can be laid.
§ Mr. SimmonsMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman on this Question what I asked him in relation to my previous Question? Is three years the normal waiting period in my constituency for people who want a telephone, and is he aware that Brierley Hill is an expanding industrial area and the Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Trade are very concerned about the inadequacy of the telephone facilities?
Dr. HillWhen it happens, as it does in some areas, that what is needed is a new telephone exchange and an extensive laying of new cables—a really formidable task—then it is of the order of two-and a-half to three years before the position can be properly met.