HC Deb 19 January 1998 vol 304 cc392-3W
Mrs. Gillan

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is her current estimar>Mrs. Gillante of the cost of millennium compliance to United Kingdom businesses. [23593]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 16 January 1998]: I have made no such estimate. The cost will depend on many factors, including the extent to which businesses decide to fix, replace or abandon systems, and the speed with which they act. We believe that acting early will reduce the cost.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list the engagements she has undertaken directly in connection with millennium compliance issues since 1 November. [23591]

Mrs. Beckett

[holding answer 16 January 1998]: Ministers in my Department have undertaken numerous engagements directly in connection with millennium compliance since 1 November. These include:

  • meetings with the Chairman of Action 2000;
  • meetings with industry;
  • speaking engagements;
  • press interviews;
  • the European Telecoms Council;
  • bi-laterals with European counterparts.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will give details of the full staffing plan for Action 2000. [23630]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 16 January 1998]: Action 2000's Chairman and Director will be supported by three Team Leaders and an office manager, together with suitable clerical and administrative support. Action 2000, under its Chairman and Acting Director, is already co-ordinating detailed work under way by a number of teams dealing with the "year 2000" problem.

Mrs. Gillan

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the impact on and cost to business of dealing with the date change problem and the introduction of the euro over the next two years. [23595]

Mrs. Roche

[holding answer 16 January 1998]: In respect of the date change problem, I have made no estimate. The cost will depend on many factors, including the extent to which businesses decide to fix, replace or abandon systems, and the speed with which they act. We believe that acting early will reduce the cost. The cost to business of the introduction of the Euro over the next two years will depend on many factors including how quickly and widely the Euro is actually used by business in the EU.