§ The Earl of Northeskasked Her Majesty's Government:
With regard to the proposal to upgrade 128,000 Department for Work and Pensions computers from Windows 2000 to XP, what account they are taking of the difficulties experienced in November in upgrading several of the department's machines. [HL436]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)The rollout of Windows XP to DWP desktops is planned to commence in February 2005. A root cause analysis of the November service disruption has been undertaken. Its conclusions and recommendations will be factored into the testing, piloting and implementation rehearsals already planned to take place before the commencement of the full rollout.
The department's priority is to secure business continuity. If any cause for concern arises during testing the department will reasssess the timing of the rollout as it would with any project.