HC Deb 09 April 1984 vol 58 cc12-3W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been received of citizens band radio interference by British Telecom, Leeds; how many have been investigated and with what results; and how many of these were in the Grimsby area.

Mr. Butcher

Information is not available on the number of complaints of interference to legal CB radio received by the radio interference service.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the length of time taken to investigate complaints by members of the public of interference on television and radio caused by citizens band radio in the Leeds office of British Telecom.

Mr. Butcher

It varies with the complexity of the case. In the area covered by the Leeds regional office complainants are normally visited within 4 weeks of making a complaint.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many complaints have been made to the Leeds office of British Telecom for the city of Grimsby concerning citizens band radio interference with television and radio reception; how many have been investigated; how long the investigations took; and with what results.

Mr. Butcher

In 1983 British Telecom recorded 61 cases of interference to broadcast reception from citizens' band radio from residents of Grimsby. All cases were investigated. The length of time taken to complete the investigations varied with the complexity of the case. However, complainants were normally visited within 3–4 weeks of making their complaint.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are employed by British Telecom in Leeds investigating complaints of television and radio interference by citizens band radio.

Mr. Butcher

In its north-east region based in Leeds British Telecom employs 24 staff on the investigation of complaints of radio interference, including those caused by citizens' band radio.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry further to the answer of 30 January, Official Report column 35–6, what priority work takes precedence over investigation of complaints about citizens band radios; and how many such investigations there have been in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Butcher

The priority work of the radio interference service includes the investigation of interference to police, fire and ambulance services, to coastal and marine safety of life services, to aeronautical services, to television and radio reception, to private mobile radio services, and the investigation of illicit broadcasting stations. In 1982 the radio interference service conducted over 85,000 such investigations.

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