§ 37. Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council when she intends to publish the next quarterly return on the progress of Government Departments towards millennium compliance. [62167]
§ Mrs. BeckettI announced the results of the latest quarterly review in a statement to the House on 2 December 1998,Official Report, columns 902–05. Copies of the individual return from Departments and agencies have been placed in the Libraries of the House and published on the internet.
§ 38. Helen JonesTo ask the President of the Council if she will make a statement on the progress being made in terms of the preparedness of the national infrastructure to cope with the millennium date change. [62169]
§ Mrs. BeckettResponsible departments and regulators are working with the major infrastructure providers to ensure that they are taking proper steps to tackle the Millennium bug.
We have also set up through Action 2000 a National Infrastructure Forum. The Forum brings together the main providers and users of infrastructure services to share best practice and information about their state of preparedness.
347WA key part of the Forum's work is an Independent Assessment Project to assess the state of preparedness of key infrastructure services, including the electricity, water, fuels, telecommunications and financial sectors. The results of the first assessment of the water industry were announced by OFWAT on 22 October. The first results for the other key sectors should be available early in the New Year.