asked the Postmaster-General if he will now give an answer to the letter written to him on 25th January, 1949, by the hon. and gallant Member for the Horncastle Division in regard to Wing-Commander Elliott.

My reply was sent on 21st March, 1949. I regret that it is not possible, at present, to provide a telephone for Wing-Commander Elliott.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that, owing to the long waiting list for telephones, Regular Army officers, who seldom spend more than two years in one station, are unable to have the use of a telephone and may serve for many years on end without this facility and whether he will review this matter urgently.

If an applicant for telephone service changes his address before service has been given, the application is carried forward, with the original date, to the new address. Applications from Regular Army officers are accordingly not affected if they change stations in this country. As regards officers and others returning from abroad, I regret that it would be impracticable to give them special priority.

Is not the Minister aware that these officers start off without having a telephone at all and the result of that is that there is no priority and they may have to serve 10 or 15 years at home without having the use of a telephone?

I am sure that my answer indicates that that is not the position.

asked the Postmaster-General what categories of persons are given priority in applications for new telephone installations and extensions.

Priority for the provision of telephone service is given to essential requirements of Government Departments, public utilities, health and life-saving services, firms engaged on production and distribution for export or for saving imports, and farmers. Subject to these broad categories of priority, business applicants are in general given preference over residential applicants.

What precisely is meant by firms engaged in the saving of imports? Is it right to give such firms, which might be quite spurious firms and which have only a transient existence, the right of way over Army officers, as referred to in the previous Question, and established and genuine traders?

We are, of course, suffering from a shortage, and there is a big waiting list; but we have endeavoured to give priorities on the best possible basis, and in our experience it is working fairly well.

In view of the unsatisfactory answer to Question No. 40, coupled with the answer to Question No. 39, I beg to give notice that I hope to raise this matter on the Adjournment as soon as possible.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the decision taken in the Post Office Telephones, Manchester Area, to place an embargo, as from 1st March, 1949, upon the installation of telephones in residential premises; that at least 25,000 households are affected, including the homes of those who are engaged on essential work in connection with the export drive; and if he will state the reasons for the failure of the Post Office to provide this service.

In Manchester, and elsewhere, we have had to concentrate our available labour on the provision of telephones urgently required in the national interest. In the Manchester Area, until arrears of essential work are overtaken, we have had temporarily to suspend the completion of any fresh agreements for telephones for purely residential lines.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say how long this embargo is to continue?

No, Sir.

asked the Postmaster-General how many applications for telephones have been made since the close of the war to the present date; how many of this number have had telephones installed; and when he expects that the position will become easier.

Nearly 1,300,000 applications for telephone service were made between 30th September, 1945, and 31st December, 1948. I regret that I cannot say how many of these are included among the 1,100,000 which were met during the same period. I cannot say when the position will become easier.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that amongst the many applicants for telephones whom the right hon. Gentleman categorises as private residents are people who need to use telephones mainly for business and professional purposes, and would he give particular attention to them?

If that is so they will get some kind of priority for that reason.

asked the Postmaster-General for how long it is anticipated that private subscribers must accept the principle of a shared service before being given a line.

I cannot at present foresee when new and removing residential subscribers will no longer be required to accept liability to share their lines. Shared service is enabling us to provide telephones for many people whose applications could not otherwise be met.

To what extent is the Postmaster-General getting a bigger allocation of capital equipment in order to meet this demand?

That is another matter.

In view of the general disquiet about the state of the telephone service and the priority system now in force, would the right hon. Gentleman be prepared to receive a deputation of Members of Parliament?

I do not agree that there is any general disquiet, in view of the fact that we have put in one in three telephones since the war.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the difficulty now is labour or materials, because at one time it was both?

Both, Sir.

asked the Lord President of the Council how overlapping is avoided between the Committee on Industrial Productivity and its four panels, and the Anglo-American Productivity Council.

The British members of the Anglo-American Council were appointed by the Federation of British Industries, the British Employers' Confederation and the Trades Union Congress. The membership of the Committee on Industrial Productivity and its panels includes persons appointed after consultation with these bodies. These members have undertaken to inform the Committee if any danger of overlapping should arise, so that appropriate mutual adjustment may if necessary be made.

Cannot the Committee take any initiative in the matter? Must it wait until the productivity council takes the initiative?

If I may say so, the hon. Gentleman is really getting himself worked up into a state of worry about these matters. It is quite unnecessary. It seems to me that the arrangements made are perfectly clear, and, as a matter of fact, they have two different jobs. There is really no point in the hon. Gentleman having sleepless nights about it. It is quite all right.

asked the Lord President of the Council what subjects are covered by the Central Office of Information lecture service; and what is the annual cost of this service.

The main current themes of the lecture service provided by the Central Office of Information are: Economic Situation, Commonwealth and Western Union. The forecast of expenditure on this service for 1948–49 is £63,000.

asked the Lord President of the Council what is the guiding principle in selecting organisations on behalf of which the Central Office of Information subsidises lectures; who selects the lecturers; what is the average fee paid to them; and, in particular, on what principle the United Nations Association has been omitted from these organisations and the movement for Western Union included.

If the hon. Member will refer to the annual report of the Central Office of Information for the year 1947–48, he will find details of its lecture service, from which he will see that it does not subsidise lectures on behalf of any organisation. The lecturers are selected by the Central Office of Information. The average fee is £1 14s. For the reasons why lectures on the United Nations have not been included in the service, I would refer him to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Brentford and Chiswick (Mr. F. Noel-Baker) on 10th March, 1948. Lectures on Western Union have been given in response to a request by the Foreign Office acting in accordance with Article 3 of the Brussels Treaty.

While I am in favour of Article 3 of the Brussels Treaty, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman can he give any particular reason why this selection is made? Is he really in favour of sponsored lectures by the Government of the day, and is it not better to leave these voluntary societies to run under their own steam?

There is a good deal of lecturing done under the auspices of the United Nations Association. Therefore, there is no overlapping in this respect at the moment, because we are not including United Nations lectures at present. Western Union has come in because it is a new subject. My view is that we must be adaptable in this lecture service and arrange subjects according to what the public interest requires at a certain time.