§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if his Department's estimates of the total costs of resolving the millennium compliance problem include costs relating to the embedded chip problem; and if he will make a statement. [21565]
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§ Mr. MorleyI can confirm that the Department's latest estimate of the total cost of resolving the millennium compliance problem amounts to £11.1 million, of which £4.1 million relates to the embedded chip problem.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what millennium compliance problems have occurred to date in his(a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) other public bodies; and if he will make a statement. [21560]
§ Mr. MorleyProblems encountered when preparing for the millennium include those of a general nature, such as clearly defining the scope of the Department's (including Agency) millennium programme/project(s), as well as resourcing and prioritisation issues. Lower-level problems have been encountered in obtaining required assurances from suppliers of systems/products, identifying risks and required contingency actions (including identifying replacement suppliers/products where necessary). With regard to IT application systems, though the millennium is still two years away, some problems have already appeared—for example problems have been identified (and addressed) on a computer system which is concerned with processing five-year forward-looking agreements, where the termination date falls in the new millennium. Non-Departmental Public Bodies sponsored by the Department do not fall directly within the scope of the Department's millennium programme, but all relevant bodies have been asked to progress essential preparations.