§ 4. Mr. van Straubenzeeasked the Postmaster-General why the equipment delivered by the General Electric Company Limited to the telephone exchange at Ascot for the conversion of the exchange to automatic was subsequently removed.
§ Mr. BennWith the agreement of the Post Office the equipment was withdrawn to be used at exchanges where the service need was more urgent.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeDoes not this latest development show what an appalling muddle there has been at this exchange to the great inconvenience of my constituents? Does it not also show how foolish it was of the Postmaster-General not to tell me the name of the company concerned, since this information was so easy for me to obtain?
§ Mr. BennI know the hon. Member's interest in this matter. There was some delay in the supply of equipment. In view of the fact that switching the equipment enabled High Wycombe and Basingstoke to be converted to automatic working in December and Ascot will be converted in the spring, a management decision was taken, which I think was quite right, to switch this equipment.