§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what millennium compliance problems have occurred to date in her(a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) other public bodies; and if she will make a statement. [21558]
§ Mr. FieldThe Department has been aware of the potential impact of the Year 2000 for some considerable time and an analysis of our major systems was carried out in 1996. This analysis confirmed that DSS' major systems, for example the Income Support and Retirement Pension computer systems, would only require minor attention. This is because these systems store dates in a way that is unaffected by the year 2000. Prior to completion of the analysis, some systems using forward dates experienced minor problems which were rectified at the time.
The Department is also working with all our third party suppliers to identify products and interfaces that may need remedial action.
The DSS Year 2000 Project was established in July 1996. This project is co-ordinating extensive activity across DSS, and it is working within the Central Communications and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) approved guidelines for managing IT Projects. We are members of the CCTA Year 2000 Public Sector Group and use this forum to identify common issues and their solutions.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if her Department's estimates of the total costs of resolving the millennium compliance problem include costs relating to the embedded chip problem; and if she will make a statement. [21559]