HC Deb 13 June 1968 vol 766 cc424-6
19. Mr. Jopling

asked the Postmaster-General what plans he has for licensing private firms who want to operate a personal paging service in Great Britain.

29. Mr. Gresham Cooke

asked the Postmaster-General what plans the Post Office has for introducing a personal paging service.

Mr. Joseph Slater

My right hon. Friend already licenses organisations such as hospitals and businesses to page their employees within their own premises, and these arrangements will continue. We have undertaken market research into the demand for a paging service to be operated by the Post Office and are now evaluating the results.

Mr. Jopling

Would not the Assistant Postmaster-General agree that a service of this sort would be of the greatest possible use to many people, such as doctors and salesmen and those involved in emergency services? Has not the Post Office enough to do at the moment without trying to do this job as well?

Mr. Slater

Whenever we can assist the sections of the community to which the hon. Member has referred, we endeavour to do so. We shall give every consideration to such applications.

Mr. Gresham Cooke

Is the hon. Gentleman aware when I was in Holland about 14 days ago I saw that ordinary people could hire a pocket radio set by which they could be warned by a signal or a musical note when they were expecting an emergency call? This could be be very useful for the general public from time to time. Why should we not have the same advantages as Holland has?

Mr. Slater

I thought the hon. Member would have referred to America. Then I would have been able to give him an answer about what is happening in America and the type of machine they have there. Probably a simple public service could be introduced in parts of the country in two or three years, but if there were a demand for a general service with distinguishable signals it would take longer, perhaps five years, and the question of the use of national resources for this purpose would have to be considered.

Mr. English

Above all, when is it proposed to introduce a personal paging service in this House so that we could know when visitors arrived and when there were telephone calls for us instead of being told half an hour later by a man who has to walk around the building?

Mr. Slater

My hon. Friend should address that question to another Department.