§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the problems which have arisen in(a) his Department, (b) his agencies and (c) other public bodies for which his Department is responsible arising from millennium compliance; if he will make a statement on progress to date in tackling such problems; and what are the priority areas for remedial work. [60065]
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the conclusions of Taskforce 2000 published on 11 November in respect of his Department's most recent quarterly return on plans and progress towards Year 2000 readiness. [60212]
§ Ms Hewitt[holding answers 17 and 18 November 1998]: The Year 2000 problem is being addressed as the highest priority in all the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Departments.
Progress in these Departments is reported to Parliament on a quarterly basis. The results of the next quarterly review will be announced shortly to the House and copies of the latest quarterly returns will be placed in the Library of the House and published on the Internet.
Observations by organisations such as Taskforce 2000 are taken very seriously and are taken into account by management in assessing the work that still remains to be done and how it should be taken forward.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what allocations have been made to date from the Contingency Reserve in relation to the millennium computer problem in(a) Her Majesty's Treasury and (b) other departments; and if he will make a statement. [59947]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 17 November 1998]: No allocations have been made from the Reserve in relation to the costs of ensuring Year 2000 compliance for IT systems either in HM Treasury or elsewhere in Government. The millennium computer problem has long been anticipated and departments are expected to deal with it within existing resources.