§ 27. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Postmaster-General what recent cuts he has made in the service provided for telephone subscribers in the London area; and whether faults on subscribers' lines can still be dealt with at any hour.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonImproved maintenance, and testing techniques, have made it possible to withdraw engineering staff previously employed at night at certain exchanges, but there has been no change in the service provided for subscribers. Our arrangements enable cases of real urgency to be dealt with at any hour. If the hon. Member has a particular difficulty in mind and will let me have details, I will gladly make inquiry.
§ Mr. RobinsonIs the hon. Gentleman aware that I was informed that a fault in my own telephone line could not be attended to between 5.45 p.m. and the following morning? If this is not imposing a great inconvenience on telephone subscribers I should like to know what is. Since we have had a great deal of publicity about the improvements made in the telephone service by his right hon. Friend, could we not be told about the balancing cuts which are also made?
§ Mr. ThompsonI am surprised that the hon. Gentleman has had the difficulty to which he refers. It seems to me to be an incorrect decision for someone to take. We try to keep a balance between reasonably high standards of service and the kind of costs which the service will bear.