§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Industry what is the estimated cost to telephone users of STD calls which fail because of plant defects; what is the nature of the plant defects causing such calls to fail; how many calls a year are estimated to fail because of such defects; and whether he is satisfied with the efficiency of the STD system.
§ Mr. MeacherI refer the hon. Member to the reply my hon. Friend gave him on 9th July. Some examples of plant defects are faults caused by cable damage, power failures and general wear and tear. The Post Office tells me that the majority of failed calls are not a direct cost to customers. I am satisfied that the Post Office is effectively reducing
148WSalaries Review Body report of December 1971, which gave relevant details at the time for some of the countries mentioned in the Question.