§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the conclusions of Taskforce 2000 published on 11 November in respect of his Department's most recent quarterly return on plans and progress towards Year 2000 readiness. [60217]
§ Mr. KilfoyleFor the purpose of this answer, the Prime Minister's Office is part of the Cabinet Office.
The Taskforce 2000 report has rightly noted that no insurmountable problems are expected for the Cabinet Office and its agencies on plans and progress towards Year 2000 readiness. Detailed comments on Taskforce 2000's observations are as follows:
Some non-critical systems have been rescheduled in the Cabinet Office central department but remain on target for completion by the second quarter of 1999. These systems are being replaced as part of the planned implementation of, and within the planned expenditure for, the Department's IT strategy.
The Buying Agency's schedule is to have in place compliant versions of all business critical systems by 31 March 1999 and to stay within planned expenditure. Non critical systems are expected to be tested by the end of September 1999. Business continuity plans and end-to-end business process testing will be in place by January 1999.
The Property Advisers to the Civil Estate's programme to make compliant business critical areas is well advanced. The slower programme to ensure compliance for non-critical areas, such as vacant surplus property, is also fully on schedule and will be completed by September 1999. This is consistent with the Agency's own advice to Government Departments issued in June 1997.
The role of the Civil Service College is to help develop managerial and professional skills and promote best practice throughout Government in both management and key professional areas. It does not offer technical IT training courses. Nevertheless, it does and will continue to include Year 2000 issues in Systems Management and Project Management courses where appropriate. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (the relevant Cabinet Office Agency) offers a wide range of advice and guidance on Year 2000 issues to the public sector.
605WThe results of the next quarterly review will be announced shortly to the House and copies of the Cabinet Office's latest quarterly return will be placed in the library of the House and published on the Internet.