§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responsibilities the Police Information Technology Organisation has for ensuring millennium compliance in all national IT and communication systems and local IT systems. [38321]
§ Mr. MichaelThe Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) provides national information services to all forces through the Police National Computer (PNC). The PNC is expected to be millennium compliant by early 1999.
Individual chief officers are responsible for ensuring that their local force Information Technology (IT) and communications systems continue to operate beyond the millennium. At the request of chief officers, PITO is supplying advice and guidance to forces to help them in the discharge of that responsibility.
In addition, PITO is responsible for co-ordinating the development and delivery of local IT systems under the National Strategy for Police Information Systems. Three such systems—the HOLMES 2. Custody and Case Preparation applications—will be available by March 1999. A number of forces are expected to take delivery of these applications as replacements for existing non-compliant systems.