§ 18. Dr. John Dunwoodyasked the Postmaster-General if he will take steps to ensure that, in all areas where coastguard and lifeboat services can be called by a 999 telephone call, these services will be listed together with fire, police and ambulance in telephone directories, on notices in call-boxes and on the dials of the telephone themselves.
§ The Assistant Postmaster-General (Mr. Joseph Slater)The coastguard service is already listed in telephone directories and call office notices as an emergency authority which can be obtained via 999. Space is not available on dial centre labels.
§ Dr. DunwoodyWhile thanking my hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask him if he will take steps to give more publicity to the fact that these two services are available on emergency telephone calls, because it seemed from the evidence on the "Darlwyn" disaster that many of the general public do not appreciate this fact?
§ Mr. SlaterYes, Sir; wherever we can give greater publicity to the position concerning the points raised by my hon. Friend we will endeavour to do so. But the responsible emergency authority in this instance is the coastguard service, which invites the appropriate local lifeboat association to send out a lifeboat if it thinks it necessary. Nevertheless, we mention the lifeboat service in addition to the coastguard service in telephone directory prefaces, where we are less cramped for space than we are in call box notices.