§ Sir F. Markhamasked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that the Bedford and Oxford telephone areas have the longest waiting lists for subscribers, and that there are many complaints of delays in these areas, he will make a statement showing what improvements are in hand and planned.
§ Mr. BevinsI am sorry that there are big waiting lists in both of these areas due to the very high rates of growth in recent years. My objective is to abolish these waiting lists by March, 1966, in accordance with the plans announced in my White Paper, The Inland Telephone Service in an Expanding Economy (Cmnd. 2211). To this end, arrangements are in hand for the provision of additional cables and exchange equipment in some 200 exchange areas so as to overcome the backlog and meet new growth in the next two years. The additional cables will provide for 28,000 more subscribers and the additional exchange equipment for 35,000.