Telephone Boxes, Greater London

HC Deb 01 June 1967 vol 747 cc239-40

35. Mr. Goodhart

asked the Postmaster-General how many subscriber trunk dialling callboxes there are in Greater London; and how many were out of order on Friday, 12th May.

Mr. Edward Short

About 9,300 and 900, respectively; 750 of the damaged boxes were usable for emergency calls.

Mr. Goodhart

While welcoming the fact that there has been some improvement in the figures during the past 12 months, may I ask the Postmaster-General when he expects that the London telephone box service will be really effective?

Mr. Short

I cannot say that. We are doing everything we can. We are strengthening the telephone boxes and have introduced a number of secret alarm devices. As a result, the number of boxes out of action in London decreased by one-third last year and by one-quarter throughout the country. This is a social problem, however, and I cannot say when it will completely disappear.