PUBLIC TELEPHONE BOXES

That this House notes that BT has announced that it intends to remove 5,500 public telephone boxes, and consult over the removal of 8,700 more public telephone boxes; further notes that not everyone in the UK has a mobile telephone and in some rural areas mobile telephone reception is poor; further notes that public telephone boxes act as an emergency facility for those without mobile telephones, where their mobile telephone battery has died or where there is no mobile telephone reception; recognises that BT is a private company but that it also has a public responsibility; and calls on BT to ensure that a sufficient network of public phone boxes will be available to those who need to use them throughout the UK.