§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the police about British Telecom's intended reduction in the number of its telephone exchanges; if 999 calls in some cases will be relayed to exchanges outside the police areas whose officers may be responsible for dealing with them; if the change from manual to automatic handling of such calls can make it more difficult for the police to respond speedily; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdBoth the police and fire service representative committees concerned with communications have expressed concern at the reduction in the number of British Telecom operator assistance centres handling 999 calls from the public.
The reduction in the number of these centres, which is a result of the modernisation of the British Telecom public switched telephone network, will mean that while all 999 calls from the public will continue to be handled manually by British Telecom operators, an increasing number of these calls will be handled at operator assistance centres located outside the operational areas of the particular police force or fire brigade for which the call is intended. We are assured by British Telecom that these changes will not reduce the standard of this emergency service, but we will continue to monitor the service to make sure that its present high quality is maintained.