Computers: the "Millennium Bug" (Hansard, 27 January 1997)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe)
My Lords, the integrity and continuity of government information systems are essentially the responsibility of individual departments. However, the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster have personally ensured that all ministerial heads of department and Permanent Secretaries are aware of the problem and are 963 implementing plans of action in relation to their computer systems and that all departments plan to complete the work in time.

§ Lord Stallard
My Lords, I am grateful for that reply. I am sure that some confidence will be generated as a result of his recognition of the urgency of the problem. A few weeks ago in another place the Minister of public service said that he was confident that education and awareness across government will create solutions to the problem; he believed that we had just about enough time. In reply, the Business Standards Institution magazine of this month, citing the Computing Services and Software Association, does not share the confidence of the Minister and his honourable friends in another place. As regards the millennium bug, the article states that, Unless specific action is taken immediately, what is currently a manageable problem will become a crisis in 1997/98", and the potential to put organisations out of business is definitely there. The article concludes that it is no exaggeration to say that failure to tackle the issue in good time could lead to commercial disasters.
I do not believe that the Government have recognised the real urgency of the matter. If we do not act now there could be some commercial disasters outside government, and certainly within government.

Earl Howe
My Lords, all the indications are that the problem is not insurmountable as long as it is tackled sufficiently early and thoroughly. I believe that the Civil Service is acting in good time; and the public sector appears to be in as good a position as the private sector. The evidence in the private sector is that the larger companies for the most part have addressed the problem with suitable urgency. I understand that in the main it is the smaller companies which have yet to see the importance of the issue. We believe that across government work is now in hand and that we shall see the problem addressed in good time.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, if the noble Earl is right when he says that the problem has to be tackled early, will he comment on the fact that the Government are purchasing computers now—I refer in particular to £150 million-worth for the National Health Service—which are subject specifically to this millennium bug? Those will have to be put right. What on earth is the point of buying something now which will have to be put right at an early stage?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I believe that any software sold on the market now has to be either millennium compliant, as it is called, or has to come with a warranty 964 to ensure that it is upgraded or updated before the critical date. I understand that that applies to the system that the noble Lord has mentioned.

§ Lord Richard
My Lords, is the Minister saying that the £150 million worth of computers that have been bought apparently for the National Health Service have the millennium bug and will have to be treated?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I shall have to see to which system the noble Lord refers. I shall write to him if something I have said is incorrect. I understand that there is no risk to the National Health Service from any system that it has recently purchased.

§ Baroness O'Cathain
My Lords, will the Minister ensure that the experience gained by the public sector and by large private companies is of some assistance to the smaller companies? It is in everyone's interest that every company which has software is free of this millennium bug by the millennium. I fear that there will be areas of the country to which that will not apply because not enough constructive help has been given to those companies through various channels.

Earl Howe
My Lords, my noble friend raises an important point. The Government have established TaskForce 2000. My honourable friend the Minister for Science and Technology is involving the private sector to raise awareness and to identify solutions. The key aim of the task force is to ensure 100 per cent. awareness and commitment from main board members in industry and commerce, and that the target should be reached no later than March 1997.

§ Lord Dean of Beswick
My Lords, the Minister appears to indicate in his Answer that the Government are satisfied with the performance of the computers which have been purchased by units of the National Health Service. Will the Minister take time to read the report of the Audit Commission on some of the scandals as regards computers that were purchased which totally fail the health service?

Earl Howe
My Lords, I am not sure that that specific problem relates to the Question on the Order Paper, which is concerned with a quite narrow, albeit important, difficulty which many computers are likely to experience if nothing is done.
The problem has been addressed. We are ensuring that there is widespread awareness and that the problem will be solved. The point that the noble Lord raises is significant and I shall of course look at it.

§ The Earl of Northesk
My Lords, will my noble friend the Minister confirm that so far as the millennium time bomb is concerned, it is a matter of the hardware rather than the software; and that in that sense £150 million spent on computers (hardware) need not necessarily be a waste of money?

Earl Howe
My Lords, my noble friend makes an important point. While for many computers it is 965 primarily a software problem within applications programmes and so on, there are some hardware systems that are not millennium compliant. The obvious examples are: process control systems; access control systems; air-conditioning systems; lift control systems; and even traffic lights. Any system that runs with a clock inside it could be vulnerable.