asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been drawn to the unsatisfactory working of the Elmbridge telephone exchange; whether he has considered the representations made to him by the Surbiton Borough Council on this subject with particular reference to inadequate service given at the time of a recent fatal casualty; and what action he proposes to take in the matter.

Service at Elm-bridge exchange has been affected by heavy losses of operating staff during the past year. In spite of this, our regular sampling of the service shows that there has been a steady improvement and I hope that, as the new staff gains further experience, this improvement will be continued. I have considered the representations made by the Surbiton Borough Council, in regard to the recent fatal casualty, and I am satisfied that there was no avoidable delay in answering the call for the ambulance.

Can the right hon. Gentleman explain why the service given by this exchange is so conspicuously worse than that of all other exchanges in the neighbourhood; and is he aware that his predecessor gave me an undertaking a year ago that the staff would be increased?

I do not think it is necessary to increase the staff, although it may have something to do with it. I believe there has been a 50 per cent. turnover in staff in this neighbourhood, with the result that a lot of them are untrained. That has a lot to do with it. However, in the last week or two the service has been improving, and I hope it will improve still more.