§ 45. Mr. Skeetasked the Postmaster-General what plans he has for the introduction of subscriber trunk dialling in London this year.
§ The Postmaster-General (Mr. Reginald Bevins)I am hoping that S.T.D. facilities will be brought into use on 1st July at the Metropolitan, London Wall and Moorgate exchanges. By the end of the year I hope to provide S.T.D. for our customers on a further nineteen exchanges in the City, Westminster and the West End.
§ Mr. SkeetWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for that information, may I ask when he intends to extend this system to the Willesden area? May I invite his comment on an observation that subscribers find that while they are economising on long-distance calls, they find it more expensive to face bills for local calls?
§ Mr. BevinsI do not think that Willesden is scheduled for subscriber trunk dialling within the next twelve months. [An HON. MEMBER: "Why not?"] As for charges under the new system, it is perfectly true that some subscribers find that their bills are heavier than they were. It is equally true that for others they are lower, but something like three-quarters of the people who are on the new system approve of it.