§ 41. Mr. William Hamiltonasked. the Postmaster-General what was the total cost of equipment of foreign manufacture purchased by the Post Office last year; what proportion this was of total purchases; and what steps he is taking to ensure that, wherever possible, a greater amount of British-made equipment is purchased.
§ Mr. Edward ShortPost Office purchase of foreign equipment in 1966–67 totalled just over £1 million, which is less than per cent of total purchases in the period. These were in the main items which cannot be obtained in this country.
§ Mr. HamiltonCan my right hon. Friend say whether this shortfall is due to the fact that British manufacturers are unable or unwilling to produce the the equipment which the Post Office requires? If that is the case, what steps are being taken by the Post Office to manufacture some of its own equipment in development areas?
§ Mr. ShortI will tell my hon. Friend what the items are. There are some very special tools from Sweden and Germany; photographic equipment from Japan; and miscellaneous testing equipment from a variety of industrial nations. As I have said, we are asking the House to give us power to manufacture in the Bill which will come before it some time this year.
§ Mr. BryanSince the waiting list for telephones is largely attributed to the shortage of supplies, to what extent has the Postmaster-General looked for supplies abroad?
§ Mr. ShortWe are very anxious to buy all our exchange equipment in this country. I have talked to all the managing directors of all the supplying firms. As I pointed out earlier, they have doubled their capacity over the last two or three years, and I hope that within a year or so they will be able to meet all our demands.