§ 3. Mr. Channonasked the Postmaster-General if he will give details of the special attention he is giving to those telephone areas in Great Britain and Northern Ireland with waiting lists of more than 2.5 per cent. of the total number of subscribers in the area; and how effective this has been in reducing waiting lists.
§ Miss PikeIn drawing up the telephone development programme allowed by the resources available to us, the capital needs of these areas have been kept very much in mind. As a result, the number of telephone subscribers in these areas has been increased during the five years ended 31st December, 1961, by 23 per cent. in the lowest case to 41 per cent. in the highest, compared with 17 per cent. for the United Kingdom as a whole. In the same period the waiting list in these areas has dropped from 6.3 per cent. to 3.5 per cent., and 218,000 telephones have been provided. Future progress must depend upon demand and the resources available to us.
§ Mr. Channonis the hon. Lady aware that I should like to study her figures closely before commenting on them? Can she tell me how many telephone areas there are in this category, and whether their number has been significantly reduced?
§ Miss PikeI should like further notice of that question. I am sure that when my hon. Friend has studied the figures he will realise that he is getting a very good share of the progress that we are making.
§ Mr. MasonCan the hon. Lady inform the House to what extent they have succeeded in pressing down demand because of increased telephone tariffs?
§ Mr. ManuelIn connection with the areas mentioned, can the hon. Lady say how much delay is occurring because of the lack of provision of main cables in reception areas with the result that telephones cannot be linked up because of lack of power?
§ Miss PikeIt is difficult to give a precise answer to that question because, as the hon. Gentleman knows, where development is going forward quickly there is a shortage of main cables, and this holds up the situation considerably.