§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's timetable for dealing with the Year 2000 Computer Problem; who is in charge of the project; how many staff are working on it; what is the projected cost of resolving the problem; and whether the project is on schedule. [7142]
§ Mr. StrawThe Year 2000 computer problem will impact directly on the business of the Department. For this reason, the Director of each business area in the Home Office has appointed a Year 2000 manager who is responsible for ensuring that computer systems within their area are Year 2000-compliant. Initial inventory and audits were completed by December 1996 and costed plans for resolving the problem are to be produced by each business area by October 1997. The aim is for all system changes to have been implemented and tested by December 1998, and for the cost of preventive and remedial action to be met from within existing provision. At present, the project is on schedule to meet these dates.
The Corporate Resources Director is chairing a Year 2000 Steering Committee, the terms of reference for which include the monitoring of action taken across the Department to ensure that the timetable is met and the sharing of information to ensure that business areas benefit from experience elsewhere and that they co-operate where appropriate. My Department is represented on the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency's (CCTA) Year 2000 Public Sector Group and is using the guidance issued by CCTA "Tackling the Year 2000".