§ 25. Mr. Hollandasked the Postmaster-General what progress has been made in the design of the new telephone kiosk.
§ Mr. BevinsI have obtained some of the prototypes of a new kiosk designed by Mr. Neville Conder which I propose to put on trial. With the agreement of the authorities of the House, one will be placed in the Upper Waiting Hall this coming weekend for Members to see, and others will be available for public use from Monday next at Grosvenor Gardens and at the rear of the Royal Exchange.
§ Mr. HollandWhile regretting that my right hon. Friend has not found a site in Acton for one of these prototypes, can he say over what period of time he is proposing to spread the replacement of existing telephone kiosks if this new one proves successful? Can he give us some information, either now or next week, when we get a sight of the new one, about costs, so that when we assess the aesthetic and functional advantages of the new kiosk we can have some idea of assessing the value for money which it represents?
§ Mr. BevinsI will see what I can do about Acton. There is no intention that these new kiosks should be put in place of existing ones within a very short period. The fact of the matter is that this new kiosk is very much more expensive than the old ones. If they are to be adopted for further general use over a period of years, they will have to be put mainly in the new call offices and in replacement of kiosks which are more or less obsolete.
§ Mr. BrockwayMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether, when replacing these kiosks, he will pay some tribute to his predecessor, Fred Jowett, who introduced them and who obtained the greatest co-operation of the leading architects in this country, including Sir Edwin Lutyens, in designing them?
§ Mr. BevinsMost certainly.