§ Mr. Summersasked the Assistant Postmaster-General what is the estimated weight of telephone wire on poles but not in use owing to replacement by underground cable; its estimated value and the cost of dismantling; and what steps have been, or are being, taken to bring this valuable and scarce commodity into fresh use.
§ Mr. GammansDuring the past two years the value of wire recovered was about £1 million, compared with £200,000 for the two previous years. So far as can be estimated without detailed inquiry, 3,000 to 4,000 tons of wire remain to be recovered and work on this is being pressed forward as rapidly as the claims of defence work permit.