§ 54. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Postmaster-General if he will state the numbers, at the latest convenient date, of applicants for telephones in Scotland, England, and Wales, respectively; and if he will specify the steps he has taken during the last five years, and the steps he now plans to take, to reduce the numbers on each of those waiting lists.
§ Miss PikeThe numbers of applications on hand at 31st December last were: in Scotland 9,532, in England 136,199, and in Wales and Border Counties 8,193. Of these, 104,610 were under inquiry or in course of being met.
During the past five years nearly 2 million telephones have been installed, and the total number of applications on hand has been reduced by 202,000. In this period the capacity of telephone exchanges and local cables has been increased by more than 25 per cent. This expansion is continuing as rapidly as capital resources permit.