§ 41. Mr. Ben ChapmanTo ask the President of the Council what progress is being made on the state of readiness of the national infrastructure in preparation for the millennium date change. [83450]
§ 42. Mr. BorrowTo ask the President of the Council if she will make a statement on the progress made by key sectors of UK infrastructure in their preparations for the millennium bug. [83451]
§ Mrs. BeckettReports at the National Infrastructure Forum on 21 April showed that significant progress has been made by the major sectors of the infrastructure in working towards the goal of 'no material disruption' to public services since the last meeting in January. Full details are available on the Action 2000 website with summaries appearing in advertisements in Sunday newspapers from 9 May. All key sectors of the infrastructure have independent assessment programmes in place which are due for completion by July when they will be made public, and will give the UK one of the most objective and comprehensive pictures of readiness in the world.
§ 45. Mr. WyattTo ask the President of the Council how many Government departments have had external auditors to test their millennium compliance systems; and if she will make a statement. [83454]
§ Mr. TippingOf the 90 departmental and agency returns in March, 84—or 93 per cent.—have been, or currently are being independently assessed. A further six have plans for independent assessment. Of those that have been or are being assessed, 63 per cent. were assessed by bodies outside of their department.