§ 13. Mr. Shepherdasked the Postmaster-General if he will state the additional manufacturing cost of a white telephone as compared with a black telephone and the additional cost charged to the subscriber.
§ Mr. BevinsThere is no difference in the manufacturing cost of black and white telephones. The additional charge to the subscriber is thirty shillings, plus the standard charge of thirty shillings if a special visit is necessary to change the instrument. This provides both a brake on the premature scrapping of existing instruments and a useful profit.
§ Mr. ShepherdDoes my right hon. Friend really think that he can justify a differential charge of £3 for a white as against a black instrument when manufacturing costs are the same? Is not this a frightfully bad example to private enterprise?
§ Mr. BevinsI am not sure that I can justify it, and I will gladly look at it again.
Mr. Gresham CookeIs my right hon. Friend aware that not only does the subscriber have to pay £3 more, but that when he gets a white instrument it is not half as efficient as a black one?