HC Deb 21 January 1953 vol 510 cc40-1W
Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewing

asked the Minister of Supply how many teleprinter lines there are in his Department; where they go; how many teleprinter operators are employed; and what is the extent of the traffic passing over the teleprinter service.

Mr. Sandys

There are 89 teleprinter lines in the Ministry of Supply network. They radiate from one of our headquarter buildings in London, either direct or through one of seven provincial switching centres (which also serve as receiving and transmitting stations) to 47 stations throughout the country in regional offices, Ordnance factories and research and development establishments. In addition, there are five stations in other Government Departments.

Under three supervisory staff, there are 28 full-time operators and 36 part-time operators in the Ministry's stations, the latter being employed also on normal typing duties.

Approximately 21,000 messages passed over the network during a recent check period of four weeks.

Mr. C. I. Orr-Ewing

asked the Minister of Supply what percentage of the telephone calls passing through the switchboard of his Department are for internal calls and external calls; what is the size of the switchboard and how many telephone operators, exchange lines and exclusive lines are employed

Mr. Sandys

There are eight telephone switchboards serving the 10 headquarters buildings of the Ministry. A recent test taken by the General Post Office showed that, on an average, about 23 per cent. of the total traffic handled by these switchboards was in respect of internal calls. There are 142 operating positions and 110 operators are employed. There are 465 exchange lines and 49 exclusive lines