§ 85. Mr. Osborneasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that further orders for new residential telephones cannot be accepted in the Cleethorpes area until additional equipment has been installed at the exchange; and, as this new equipment is not expected until 1957, if he will take steps to expedite its delivery.
Dr. HillI am sorry about this situation. The trouble is the very large demand for new telephones in the area running now at twice the rate it was three years ago. There are 167 people waiting; we hope to put ninety of them on the phone before the end of this year and within sixteen months we expect to complete the exchange and cable schemes that will deal with the balance.