§ Mr. Bodyasked the Postmaster-General the number of outstanding applications for telephones in the urban district council area of Basildon at the latest convenient date; how many of these have been outstanding for more than one year; how long the longest has been outstanding; and how long it will take for those who have been waiting for more than one year to have a telephone.
§ Mr. MarplesOn 1st January, 695 applications were outstanding, of which 21W 260 were under inquiry or in course of being met. The earliest application was made in March, 1953. I could not justify the detailed work needed to establish the date by which we shall be able to satisfy the 204 applications that have been outstanding for more than a year because of shortage of plant. We hope to join up 800 telephones this year.