HC Deb 29 June 1984 vol 62 cc532-3W
Mr. Neale

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the items of telecommunications apparatus and systems which have been referred by him or the British Approval Board of Telecommunications to the laboratories of British Telecom for approval, the dates when each item was so referred, the dates when they have been approved and the anticipated dates for approval of those items not yet approved.

Mr. Butcher

I am unable to give this information as the details of individual approval applications are commercially confidential.

Mr. Neale

asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what representations he has received from small telecommunications companies about the speed of testing at the facilities of British Telecom and the British Standards Institute; and if he will make a statement;

(2) how many laboratories British Telecom has to test, for safety transmission and signalling characteristics, telephone apparatus referred to it by his Department or the British Approvals Board of Telecommunications for approval; when the laboratories were established; and when it commenced such testing;

(3) how many people are employed by British Telecom for the sole purpose of testing telecommunications apparatus from the private sector referred to its laboratories for approval.

Mr. Butcher

Representations about the speed of testing are becoming fewer, probably as a direct result of laboratories gaining experience and improving their performance. Extended testing periods have often proved, on close examination, to result from suppliers' difficulty in bringing their apparatus up to the minimum acceptable requirements. In order to alleviate this problem, arrangements have recently been introduced to permit suppliers to have direct access to laboratories where testing is in progress, subject to case by case agreement with the laboratories. This will improve feedback to suppliers and help to speed up testing. Details of the numbers of laboratories, and staff employed, by the organisations undertaking approvals testing are confidential to the organisation. They are in competition with one another, thereby keeping test costs to a minimum, and I am not able to disclose operational details.