§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what resources he has allocated to enable all computer software operated by the Treasury to be adapted to deal with(a) the year 2000 problem and (b) the proposed single European currency; and if he will make a statement. [5740]
§ Mrs. Angela KnightThe Treasury has work in hand to identify and test computer software for year 2000 compliance. This work is being undertaken by a project team alongside existing responsibilities. The current plan is that any remedial work will be scheduled into the maintenance and upgrade cycle of computer systems concerned.
It was agreed at the European Council in Madrid in December 1995 that the single currency will be introduced over a transition period of up to three and a half years from January 1999 in those countries which participate. It is envisaged that public administrations in those countries which participate, along with many private sector operators, will change many or all of their systems around the end of that period, when euro banknotes and coins become available. Given that the Government have not decided whether the United Kingdom should seek to participate in the single currency and that, if it were to do so, there would be a transitional period after the introduction of the euro before its use would become necessary for all activities, the Treasury has not committed resources at this stage to adapting its computer software to deal with the single currency.