§ 25. Mr. Shepherdasked the Postmaster-General if he will give figures to show the incidence of vandalism in respect of telephone kiosks; and what steps are being taken to reduce this vandalism.
§ 74. Mr. Kimballasked the Postmaster-General what is the total present annual 1259 cost of wanton damage to public telephone kiosks as compared with the cost in the three previous years.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterIn 1964 there were about 100,000 cases of vandalism involving nearly half of our 75,000 call offices, about a quarter of which were subjected to repeated damage and 1965 figures will be higher. As I told the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Gresham Cooke) and the hon. Member for Barry (Mr. Gower) on 27th October, my right hon. Friend is stepping up measures to safeguard the equipment and detect the offenders.
Excluding overheads and loss of revenue, the estimated cost for 1965 is £200,000. This is a percentage increase of 33⅓ per cent., 122 per cent. and 198 per cent. respectively over 1964, 1963 and 1962.
§ Mr. ShepherdIn view of the appalling nature of this problem, would the Assistant Postmaster-General think in more drastic terms in order to find a remedy? If this rate of damage continues, would it not be proper to deny free access to call-boxes?
§ Mr. SlaterIt is true that this has caused us great concern. It is equally true that among the suggestions put forward has even been the one that we should withdraw kiosks from the service, no matter where they are. This type of vandalism takes place in many of our major cities and is on the increase. We are doing everything we can, with the co-operation of the police and the general public, to stamp it out.