THE TELEPHONE SERVICE. (Hansard, 18 February 1925)

§ LORD SOUTHWARK

My Lords, I beg to ask His Majesty's Government to furnish figures as to the number of orders for telephones which the Post Office now has in hand, and as to how many of that number have been in hand more than two months. Unless I am misinformed the number of orders for telephones dealt with by the Post Office in 1924 was 19,000 per month. Of this total 69 per cent. were completed within three weeks of the receipt of the order. During the same period an average of 1,500 orders per 247 month were held up on account of temporary difficulties arising out of way-leaves, or shortage of plant and building accommodation. I would remind your Lordships that, apart from national efficiency, telephone develpment in this country is being strongly pressed on the grounds that such development is remunerative to the State and therefore to the taxpayer, and that it will definitely benefit trade in a wide range of industries and consequently have an immediate and appreciable effect upon unemployment. I would also draw your Lordships' attention to the fact that in 1901 America had no fewer than one million telephones. At the present time—that is, twenty-four years later—we find that while Australia and other countries throughout the world have been greatly increasing the number of their telephones, in this country in the present year the total number is only one million.

I have not put this question upon the Paper in order to occupy your Lordships' time by making a long speech or with the desire to give trouble, but I would ask His Majesty's Government for information in the interests of the trade and commerce of the country. I do so especially at the request of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, which administers the whole commerce of the country and consequeotly speaks with the authority of a great commercial institution. Apart from the interests of commerce, however, I am anxious to give the authorities an opportunity of explaining these apparently unnecessary delays. I do not desire to go into details or to trouble your Lordships with other matters which might be brought forward in the interests of trade and commerce, such as the question of penny postage. That matter, I hope, has advanced to such a stage that the Chancellor of the Exchequer will be able to announce to us, if not immediately at any rate when he introduces the Budget, that it has become an accomplished fact. At the moment I merely wish to give the authorities an opportunity of explaining. I have not made statements of a very definite or detailed character, but my main point, I think, is clear—namely, that there has been, and is, considerable delay in the production of these telephones. We wish 248 to know whether the Government can state any just or reasonable cause for these delays and will tell us whether they are explained by difficulties in regard to buildings or machinery. Some such explanation is desirable in view of the complaints that are incessantly heard upon this score.

§ THE EARL OF LUCAN

My Lords, I think I can answer the noble Lord's Question in a very few words. He quoted figures to the effect that the number of orders for telephones dealt with by the Post Office in 1924 averaged 19,000 per month. I am informed that the Post Office do not claim so many as that. The total number of telephones installed by the Post Office amounts, roughly, to 17,000 a month at the present time, and some 77 per cent. of the orders received are completed within four weeks. To come to the precise terms of the noble Lord's Question, the number of telephone orders now in hand is 16,861, of which approximately 4,600 have been in hand for more than two months. Of these 4,600, about 1,600 are held up at the request of the applicants themselves, as a rule because the premises in which they are to be installed are not yet ready. Of the remainder, about 1,500 are in course of completion; that is to say, the difficulties which have caused delay have now been removed and the work of installation is proceeding. Of the remaining 1,500 which are still subject to delay, about 460 are awaiting agreement with the land owners or local authorities concerned for the wayleaves required to carry the necessary lines, and rather over 1,000 are awaiting an extension of plant or supply of a particular material. This last class comprises cases in which new exchanges or extension, of existing exchanges are required, and others where small sections of underground plant have to be laid, which, of course, takes up a good deal of time. I do not think I need say anything further in reply to the noble Lord. Those are the figures which the Post Office supplied, and I hope that the noble Lord will be satisfied with my answer.