POST OFFICE AND TELEGRAPH (MONEY) BILL. (Hansard, 4 July 1939)

§ EARL FORTESCUE

My Lords, the purpose of this Bill is to enable the Post Office to borrow the capital it requires to continue the essential work of developing its postal, telegraph and telephone systems. From the point of view of the Bill the last-named is the most important; it accounts for £36,200,000 out of the total of £40,000,000. The postal service, though vast, does not call for high capital expenditure; it requires about £3,400,000 of the total. The remaining £400,000 is for telegraphs. Borrowing powers were last sought in 1937, and the £35,000,000 which was authorised by that Bill is likely to meet requirements until next August, which is very close to our estimate at the time. The present Bill seeks authority for a rather larger amount, and the present indications are that even the larger amount will not meet requirements beyond March, 1941. The estimated capital expenditure for the current year is about £24,000,000. The need for additional capital is explained partly by the natural expansion of the telephone service, which is now growing at a rate nearly three times that of five years ago, and partly by the very extensive requirements of the Defence and A.R.P. Departments. The process of converting to automatic is proceeding apace, and the trunk network is being improved and extended. I beg to move.