§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council if she will ensure that independent audits are undertaken of the plans and progress of each Government department and agency in dealing with the Year 2000 date change. [60208]
§ Mrs. BeckettWe have already encouraged Ministers to arrange for some form of quality assurance of their Departments' and agencies' Year 2000 programmes to be carried out. It is for individual Ministers to consider what approach to auditing best suits the needs of their Departments and agencies and what bodies they should use to undertake the audits.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council how many civil servants are employed in the Year 2000 team in the Cabinet Office. [60310]
§ Mrs. BeckettTen.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council if she will publish the Government's contingency plans for dealing with the consequences of system failure caused by the millennium bug. [60203]
§ Mrs. BeckettI have asked all departments and agencies to have initial contingency plans in place by January 1999. I will consult colleagues about how much of the detail of the plans could sensibly be put into the public domain at that time.
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council what assessment she has made of the conclusions of Taskforce 2000 published on 11 November in respect of her Department's most recent quarterly return on plans and progress towards Year 2000 readiness. [60216]
§ Mrs. BeckettWork on ensuring the Millennium compliance of the Privy Council Office's systems is being taken forward as part of the Cabinet Office's Year 2000 Programme. The Cabinet Office has a comprehensive Year 2000 programme in place and is making good progress in tackling the problem. The Taskforce 2000 report therefore rightly noted that the Cabinet Office's programme posed little cause for concern.
586W
Accounting and other adjustments in table B12 of the Pre-Budget Report £ billion 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 1. Non-trading capital consumption 6.8 7.1 7.3 7.6 7.9 2. VAT refunds 4.9 5.0 5.2 5.5 5.8 3. EC contributions -5.9 -6.7 -5.9 -5.8 -5.8 4. Income tax credits 2.9 2.0 2.8 6.2 6.7 5. Other spending in AME 0.0 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2
§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the President of the Council on what date the Government's Year 2000 contingency unit was established; what its objectives are; and to which Minister it reports. [60204]
§ Mrs. BeckettI assume the hon. Member is referring to the Year 2000 Team within the Cabinet Office. The Prime Minister announced the establishment of the Year 2000 Team in answer to a Parliamentary Question on 30 March 1998,Official Report, columns 374-75.
The objective of the team is to support the work of Ministers in driving forward action in the public and private sector, including the national infrastructure, to prevent damage from the failure of electronic systems related to the Year 2000 date change.
The Year 2000 Team reports to me in my role as the Cabinet Minister responsible for the co-ordination of Government policy in response to the Millennium Bug.