HL Deb 28 July 1959 vol 218 cc662-3
LORD MACPHERSON OF DRUM-OCHTER

My Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce arrangements so that calls can be made from any telephone and charged to a private or office telephone account.]

LORD CHESHAM

My Lords, I am glad to inform the noble Lord that my right honourable friend the Postmaster General proposes to introduce this facility. The idea is that subscribers who wish to use it would be issued with telephone credit cards. Each card would have a special number and by quoting this to the telephone operator the caller would be able to make inland or overseas calls from any telephone, including call offices, without payment at the time. The calls would be charged to the account of the credit card subscriber. It is hoped the system will be ready for introduction by the end of this year for early next. My right honourable friend will present Regulations to Parliament as soon as possible.

LORD MACPHERSON OF DRUM-OCHTER

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for this news, which will be very much welcomed by the business community as well as by private individuals. I should like to ask two supplementary questions. First, will this system be on similar lines to the telephone credit card system operating in the United States; and secondly, may I take it that this new facility will be available for local telephone calls and trunk calls, including calls to overseas subscribers, and that instead of having to find the actual coins representing the cost of the call—which is often a great nuisance—in future a subscriber will be able to quote the credit card number and will then be connected to the subscriber at the other end?

LORD CHESHAM

My Lords, generally speaking, the system will be similar to that which is used in the United States of America and Canada, although I should not like to be pressed to-day for actual detailed information about the scheme. So far as calls are concerned, it will be possible with the aid of the credit card to make any call to any number, local, trunk or any form of inland or overseas call.