§ 164. Mr. R. Edwardsasked the Postmaster-General what is the number of persons on the telephone waiting list in the West Midlands area, and the number of persons in the same area who share telephone services.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonAt 31st December, 1958, 2,575 applications were on the waiting list; in addition, 1,291 were under inquiry or in course of being met. 16,099 subscribers in the area had shared service at that date.
§ 166. Mr. J. Johnsonasked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that the West Midlands area in general, and Coventry and district in particular, have the highest telephone waiting lists in the United Kingdom; and whether he will take adequate steps to alter this situation.
§ Mr. K. ThompsonI assume that the hon. Member is referring to the proportion that the waiting list bears to the total number of subscribers, as shown in my right hon. Friend's reply of 15th December to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Brighouse.
Every effort is made to allocate our resources fairly but as a new exchange takes about 3 years to provide, we cannot rapidly redress any lack of balance which may be produced by variations in the demand for service. The proportion of our resources made available to the West Midlands and Coventry areas has been increased to take account of the present position. The programme this year includes the enlargement of 17 exchanges as well as the provision of new cables.