asked the Postmaster General what steps he is taking to ensure the efficient working of the London Extended Dialling system, so as to avoid misrouting and overloading, particularly for Ashford, Middlesex, to the central exchanges and vice versa.

The capacity of the route between London and Ashford has been increased, but more circuits are needed to cater for the unexpectedly heavy increase in traffic. We are providing these as quickly as possible.I am sorry that there have been difficulties because of overloading and misrouting. I am looking further into this latter point and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as I can.