§ Mr. Willisasked the Assistant 'Post master-General the number of applicants awaiting telephones in the Edinburgh area and the steps that are being taken to supply them.
§ Mr. BurkeThe number of waiting applicants in Edinburgh at 31st January was 3,600. The steps being taken to supply telephones throughout the country were described in the reply I gave on 4th February to a question by the hon. Member for Clay Cross (Mr. H. Neal). In Edinburgh, new plant is being provided both in the exchanges and in the underground cable network and new subscribers are being joined up at the rate of about 500 421W a month. The current demands for service are, however, very high, those in January having been 80 per cent more than those in December.
§ Lieut.-Colonel Thorpasked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he has any announcement to make as to the amount of material becoming available for the installation of private telephones.
§ Mr. BurkeThe difficulty for the moment in still further accelerating the rate of installation of telephones. which is already more than 30 per cent. higher than the prewar peak rate, is primarily the shortage of labour and not of materials, which are being ordered and supplied to the Post Office by its contractors in quantities sufficient to employ all the labour available.