§ 43. Mr. Graham Pageasked the Postmaster-General if he will state the calculations by which he arrived at the figure of £600,000 loss when the charge for telephone alarm calls was sixpence and the Post Office was collecting £337,500 for that service; and how much he estimates each alarm call, for which the subscriber now pays two shillings, costs the Post Office.
§ The Postmaster-General (Mr. John Stonehouse)In 1967–68 the average cost of simply booking and completing an alarm call was 1s. 5d. and the average income 5.9d. There were 13½ million calls. Total income was therefore 575 £330,000 compared with a basic cost of £950,000. To these costs must be added substantial additional costs, incurred because at some exchanges extra operators are retained on duty throughout the night to deal with the morning alarm call peak. Costs are continuing to rise.
§ Mr. PageAre not these estimates, such as a £600,000 loss on alarm calls, quite misleading? Are not alarm calls-made at times when the staff are not busy, so that no additional staff or additional equipment are required? How on earth does the right hon. Gentleman justify a 300 per cent. increase in the charge for alarm calls?
Mr. StorehouseI advise the hon. Gentleman to listen to the reply before he formulates his supplementary question. He will understand from the reply that the estimates are not misleading and that the charge which we now make is the economic charge for the cost which we have to bear.