§ 4. Mr. Stonehouseasked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to improve the quality of service given by the Willenhall manual telephone exchange; and when an automatic exchange will be provided.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonI regret that because of staff and equipment shortages the service at this exchange is not as good as we should wish. Some additional operators have been appointed and more are being recruited. A mobile automatic exchange has recently been installed in the area, and this will help to relieve congestion at the exchange. Work on a new exchange building is expected to begin in November, and this should be opened for service in 1961.
§ Mr. StonehouseWhile acknowledging that the Minister's reply admits that there is a bad service at this exchange, may I ask him if he realises that it is a serious inconvenience to many of my constituents when they have to take three or four times as long in making calls on this manual exchange as they would on an automatic exchange? Why is it that an automatic exchange cannot be provided before 1961?
§ Mr. ThompsonThe latter part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question is much easier to answer than the implications inherent in the first part. We have to build the buildings, build the equipment and install it. That takes a long time, but we are doing the best we can.