§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is his latest estimate of the total cost of resolving the computer millennium problem in(a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies for which he is responsible; if he will give in each case (i) expenditure incurred to date, (ii) expenditure planned for 1997–98, (iii) expenditure planned for 1998–99 and (iv) expenditure planned for 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [13598]
(2) which (a) Minister and (b) civil servant has overall responsibility for ensuring millennium computer compliance in his Department and its associated public bodies.[13601]
(3) if he will make a statement on what funding provision has been made to accommodate the expenditure needed to resolve the computer millennium problem; and if he expects to have sufficient funding to pay for the work necessary to achieve complete millennium compliance by 1 January 2000. [13599]
109W(4) if he will publish the action plan, due by 1 October 1997, for resolving the computer millennium problem in his Department, its agencies and other public bodies for which he is responsible; if such was fully complete on time; and if he will make a statement. [13597]
(5) when his Department, its agencies and other public bodies for which he is responsible completed the millennium computer compliance audits of systems; and if he will make a statement. [13600]
§ Mr. SpellarIn accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines, an audit of all computer-based systems across MOD, including the Defence Agencies, has been under way since mid-1996. The audit is being used to identify and assess the Year 2000 compliancy of systems that process date-related information and to measure progress in modification or replacement of affected systems. The audit covers equipment ranging from office systems to front-line military hardware. The audit is one component of the MOD action plan for managing the Year 2000 problem. As is the case with other Departments, a costed action plan has been provided to the Cabinet Office, who are preparing a report for my right hon. Fiend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who will then inform Parliament of the conclusions. The plans are exempt from disclosure under Category 2 of the Open Government Code of Practice on Access to Government Information which permits non-disclosure prior to an announcement. However, once the announcement has been made the plans will be available to the public.
No new money is available for resolution of the Year 2000 problem, the costs of which will be met from within existing financial resources.
The Minister with responsibility for Year 2000 action is the Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Gilbert. Within MOD all budget holders have been made responsible for ensuring that affected systems within their departments are modified or replaced. Overall responsibility for managing the MOD response to the Year 2000 problem lies with the Director General of Information and Communication Services, Major General W. J. P. Robins.
§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he(a) has had and (b) plans to have with his North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Western European Union counterparts on the problems facing computer systems through the century date change; and if he will make a statement. [13504]
§ Mr. SpellarThe MOD initiated a departmental programme 18 months ago to address Year 2000 date change problems within its computer systems. During this time, the Year 2000 question has been raised with our counterparts in NATO and Allied Nations. They are fully aware of the serious nature of the problem and the actions being taken within UK MOD to ensure that Defence operations are not at risk from failure of systems to process date-related information correctly. We are discussing with our Allies the need for a collaborative approach to ensuring the continued effectiveness of the interconnection between systems on which allied operations depend. Senior-level discussions have taken place with the US Department of Defense on solutions to110W the Year 2000 problem, which has also been raised within the NATO Command, Control and Communication Board, the most senior committee in NATO dealing with Command and Control Systems, and is being raised within the WEU information systems forum. This will be kept as a high-priority topic within NATO and the WEU, and established as a regular agenda item on the appropriate committees so that progress can be monitored.