§ Mr. HoonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many lines of computer code there are in his Department's computer systems. [5523]
§ Mr. HanleyMost of my Department's computer code is contained in commercially obtained software applications, operated under licence. The number of lines of such code is known only to suppliers.
We estimate that our bespoke software contains up to 10 million lines of code. We are analysing this to determine how much will be affected by the century date change, and the cost involved.
§ Mr. HoonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many separate computer programs his Department operates. [5522]
§ Mr. HanleyThe diplomatic wing and the Overseas Development Administration use a total of 326 software applications; at least 90 per cent. are based on commercial packages, which are regularly replaced as new versions become available.