§ 6. Mr. Martenasked the Postmaster-General if he will make a statement on the availability and supply of telephone exchange equipment.
§ 11. Mr. Hamlingasked the Postmaster-General whether he is satisfied that telephone equipment from private contractors is being delivered to his Department within the time limits agreed in the contracts; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Edward ShortOver the last two years Post Office requirements for telephone exchange equipment have more than doubled and many contract delivery dates are not being met because of lack of capacity in the industry. Output is being stepped up as quickly as possible, but it will be some time before the accumulated backlog is overcome.
§ Mr. MartenIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that this lack of equipment is a great handicap to the efficiency of towns which are expanding? Can he give an assurance that when equipment is available, it will be supplied not only to make up the backlog, but also to cater for a reasonable forward amount?
§ Mr. ShortAs I have pointed out before, the trouble—and I do not think that anybody is to blame for this—is that in the 1950s forecasting of demand and capacity of the industry was inadequate. Forecasting the demand for telephones 10 years ahead is one of the most difficult things of all. Basically, that is the difficulty. We are taking everything which the industry can produce, but we are in difficulty. Out of 1,250 contracts, 900 are behind delivery date now, but the industry is co-operating and is doing its best to step up output.
§ Mr. HamlingIs my right hon. Friend telling the House that the last Government signally failed to meet the rising demand for telephones?
§ Mr. ShortI try to be fair and objective about these things, but in forecasting telephone demand a decade ahead many social, economic and other factors are involved and it is an extremely difficult exercise. We are now trying to put this 1347 position right and trying to have in hand some surplus capacity for the years ahead.
§ Mr. BryanCan the right hon. Gentleman say to what extent supplies may increase when the bulk supply agreements lapse in 1968? Will new firms come in?
§ Mr. ShortWe should be clear about this. Only two bulk agreements still exist, one for apparatus and one for exchange equipment. I have already announced that we are ending the apparatus agreement and going over to completely free competitive tendering. However, with the supply of exchange equipment the position is very different. We are taking everything the industry can produce and, obviously, competitive tendering would not be appropriate in this case. We are considering what to put in place of the present agreement when it ends in 1968.
Mr. Bob BrownWill my right hon. Friend consider seeking powers to enable him to establish factories in development areas for the Post Office to produce this type of equipment itself?
§ Mr. ShortI ask my hon. Friend to await the White Paper on the status of the Post Office which will have something important to say in this respect.