§ 2. Mr. John Hallasked the Postmaster-General when he expects to be able to eliminate the interference in television reception suffered by the residents of Green Street, High Wycombe.
§ The Postmaster-General (Mr. Ernest Marples)We have made some progress to that end, but unfortunately, the complete elimination of the interference is not yet in sight. I can assure my hon. Friend that we are not sparing our efforts to deal with this very difficult technical problem, and I should like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation of the help we have received from the manufacturers and users of the offending machines.
§ Mr. HallWhilst the television owners in the Green Street area of High Wycombe are very grateful to my right hon. Friend for the efforts made by his Ministry to overcome this problem in co-operation with the firm concerned, is he aware that for some considerable time they have been unable to receive television programmes up to 10 o'clock at night? Therefore, as they have paid for something which they have not received for a long time, is my right hon. Friend prepared to make them a refund of part of their licence fee?
§ Mr. MarplesGenerous as I am by nature, I could not agree to the last part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. I can assure him that we are making great efforts and that the firm concerned is really helping, but the difficulty is caused by radio frequency heating machines, which are universal in the furniture industry. We hope to overcome it, but whether we shall is another matter.