§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment she has made of the warning by166W the Chief Executive of the National Housing Federation relating to Year 2000 compliance of local authorities' housing benefit systems. [95216]
§ Mrs. BeckettI am replying as the responsible Minister. The compliance of local authority systems has been independently assessed by the Audit Commission, with Government Offices in the Regions acting as responsible bodies. This took place as part of Action 2000's National Infrastructure Forum programme of independent assessment, reported on 21 October, when all but a very few UK infrastructure organisations were rated "blue", which means there is no identified risk of material disruption. All sectors are expected to be "blue" by mid November.
I have placed a copy of the report of the Forum, which contains a full account of the assessment process for all these sectors, in the Libraries of the House. Local authorities in England were rated "blue" in this report, which means that as well as having completed their compliance programme, they also have business continuity plans to deal with any unexpected events. Under this assessment, payment of housing benefit should not be at risk.