Mr. Gareth R. ThomasTo ask the President of the Council if she will make a final statement on the impact of the Millennium Bug on Government Departments and Agencies. [120545]
§ Mrs. BeckettI am pleased to report that, as I predicted in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt) on 28 February 2000,Official Report, columns 135-36W, thanks to the hard work carried out in Government Departments and Agencies, the Leap Year date change had a negligible impact on them. Very few incidents were reported, and none of them had any impact on the public. Completed questionnaires will be placed, as usual, in the Libraries of the House and published on the internet, as had been the Government's practice throughout. This degree of openness and transparency has been one of the distinguishing features of the Year 2000 programme.
These will be the last questionnaires. My assessment of the impact of the Bug is that is has been very slight, both for central Government and for all the essential services in the national infrastructure. As I have said before, and repeat now, this success was not a matter of chance. Many people worked long and hard to bring it about. Government and businesses will continue to be vigilant throughout the year; but there is no longer any need for systematic monitoring.