HL Deb 10 March 1999 vol 598 cc217-8

Viscount Brentford asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they have discussed with the public utilities continuity of services in the first days of the new millennium.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, the public utilities, their sponsoring government departments and the regulators belong to the National Infrastructure Forum. Forum members share information about millennium preparedness with the aim of meeting the Government's objective that there should be no material disruption to essential public services over the millennium. The regulators are commissioning independent assessments of the utilities' preparedness for the millennium date change. They include plans to ensure that utilities can maintain services to the public if critical elements of their business are damaged.

Viscount Brentford

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for that Answer. Is he aware of the large measure of anxiety and concern in the country about discontinuity of resources at that time? How should I reply to a small business which has sent me a copy of a letter from its electricity company saying that it gives no guarantee or warranty about continuity of electricity supply over that period, although that small business and its machines are very dependent on electricity? I am also concerned about pensioners if electricity is cut off for a week or so over that period. How should I reply to such concerns?

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, the Government are aware of the public anxiety and are concerned that the public should be reassured where that is appropriate, which is in almost all cases. The question of a warranty is a legal issue and I understand why the utilities are unwilling to give a warranty. However, the noble Viscount may be reassured to know that 46 per cent. of electricity companies have already established that there is no substantial risk of material disruption and 52 per cent. are on course to meet the deadline—in other words, they will sort out problems well before that date. In addition, the 2 per cent. which still have problems outstanding are mostly older generators which may not necessarily be in use at the time of the millennium.

Earl Attlee

My Lords, how many telecom operators licensed by Oftel have yet to declare themselves millennium-compliant?

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, all telecom operators either have declared themselves to be millennium-compliant in the sense that there are no substantial risks of material disruption, or have in hand programmes for meeting the deadline in good time.

Lord Razzall

My Lords, having listened to the Minister's replies, I have a slight concern, so will the noble Lord confirm—and perhaps make this answer slightly stronger than was his Answer to the noble Viscount—that the Government take responsibility for ensuring that there will be no problems?

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

Yes, my Lords, of course. The Government take responsibility for ensuring that the public services, the utilities and, as far as we can influence them, the private sector companies are millennium-compliant. As I said in my Answer, we are also taking serious steps to ensure that services to the public are maintained if critical elements of the utilities' business are damaged at the time of the millennium. We have in hand contingency plans which will be co-ordinated between the utilities through the National Infrastructure Forum to ensure that any damage is kept to the absolute minimum.

Lord Mackie of Benshie

My Lords, does the Minister advise the public to lay in essential stocks; for example, for Hogmanay in Scotland?

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

My Lords, I think that the noble Lord should stick to his usual habits. I am sure that he lays in stocks for Hogmanay. He will, of course, recognise that the holiday period will be rather longer over the millennium. I am not advising that he should lay in stocks of, for example, tinned food.