§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what emergency measures are in place to provide back-up for the utilities in case of computer failures caused by the millennium bug. [62202]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 3 December 1998]: The utilities already have contingency plans in place to deal with an emergency. They are developing additional measures to respond to any failure caused by computer date changes in the Year 2000. The Department and the Government as a whole have a number of measures to respond to an emergency.
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§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to ensure that the utilities achieve millennium bug compliance by the year 2000. [62201]
§ Mrs. RocheThe Department is working with all the key players to ensure that the public has confidence that there will be no disruption to key infrastructure services for which it has responsibility, as a result of the Millennium Bug.
DTI is itself in direct contact with the principal companies in these sectors, their regulators, Action 2000, Cabinet Office and others. It also participates in the National Infrastructure Forum.
I refer my hon. Friend to the answers given to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Jones) on 18 November 1998, Official Report, columns 651–53, which provide further details on the position in the oil and gas, telecoms and electricity sectors.