§ Mr. de Freitasasked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that last year's percentage increase in the United Kingdom in the number of telephones per head of the population was less than in Canada, Eastern Germany, France, Switzerland and the United States of America, and less than half that in the German Federal Republic, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain; and what steps he is taking to ensure a rate of 54W development of telephone facilities in this country comparable with that in other nations.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonComparison by reference to percentages is notoriously unreliable. The United Kingdom has more than doubled its telephone system since 1945, most of it in the last five years, and is second only to the United States in the number of telephones installed. Progress is going on over a wide front and I commend the study of Command Papers 303 and 436.