§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate Action 2000 has made of the number of businesses in(a) each region and (b) in total, which have yet to take action against the millennium bug. [54125]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 31 July 1998]: Action 2000 do not undertake monitoring on a regional basis. The research is aimed at providing a picture of the current state of UK preparedness by relevant sectors, size of business and other factors.
The results of the second wave of monitoring carried out on a national basis under Action 2000's quarterly 'State of the Nation' research programme, primarily targeted at businesses with 1–500 employees, were announced by Action 2000 on 21 July.
The findings showed that 29% of the total had yet to implement a formal Year 2000 programme.
1038WAwareness of the Millennium Bug is 100% but the Action 2000 research shows that there is a 'reality gap' between being aware and comprehension of the potential impact.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what budget Action 2000 has allocated for poster board advertising in(a) 1998–99 and (b) 1999–2000. [54124]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 31 July 1998]: Poster advertising to date has incurred a total spend of £670,000 net media cost.
The business packages for poster advertising purchased with the contracting companies have been targeted at industrial parts/sites and important commuting routes in order to maximise coverage against a key target audience identified by Action 2000.
At present no further activity utilising poster sites is planned for this or the next financial year until a full evaluation of the impact and response has been carried out.
§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what budget Action 2000 has allocated for poster board advertising(a) in each region and (b) in total. [54126]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 31 July 1998]: The poster packages purchased by Action 2000 were targeted at business areas and key commuting routes. The total allocation of spend to date on this activity is £670,000 net media cost.
Regional breakdown of that spend is:
Percentage London 47 Midlands 10.5 North West 10.5 Yorkshire 7.5 Scotland 7.5 Wales and The West 4.5 Southern 4.5 East of England 3 North East 3 Northern Ireland 1 South West 0.9 Border 0.1