| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Computers (Century Date Change)
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which (a) Minister and (b) civil servant has overall responsibility for ensuring millennium computer compliance in his Department and its associated public bodies. [13571]
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 174
Mr. Fatchett:
Responsibility within this department for millennium compliance rests with myself and Roy Dibble, director general services.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his latest estimate of the total cost of resolving the computer millennium problem in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) other public bodies for which he is responsible; if he will state in each case (i) expenditure incurred to date, (ii) expenditure planned for 1997-98, (iii) expenditure planned for 1998-99 and (iv) expenditure planned for 1999-2000; and if he will make a statement.[13568]
Mr. Fatchett:
The cost of resolving the computer millennium problems in this Department is estimated at £4,100,000.
Annual planned spends are:
These figures could be reduced by up to £1,050,000 if no slippage occurs in existing strategic Information Systems infrastructure replacement plans.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what funding provision has been made to accommodate the expenditure needed to resolve the computer millennium problem; and if he expects to have sufficient funding to pay for the work necessary to achieve complete millennium compliance by 1 January 2000. [13569]
Mr. Fatchett:
We expect to achieve millennium compliance by the year 2000. Provision has been made for £2,857,000 for resolution of millennium problems within this Department. There is an additional contingency provision of £1,050,000 to cover the costs of remedial action to existing systems should the planned replacement of strategic systems incur any slippage. Both these sums will be met from the existing PES provision.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the action plan, due by 1 October 1997, for resolving the computer millennium problem in his Department, its agencies and other public bodies for which he is responsible; if such was fully completed on time; and if he will make a statement. [13567]
Mr. Fatchett:
The costed action plans will be analysed by the Central Information Technology Unit (CITU) and the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) and the conclusions reported to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who will then inform Parliament. The plans will be exempted from disclosure under the open government code of practice on access to Government information, which permits non-disclosure prior to an announcement. However, once the announcement has been made the plans will be available to the public. Information systems department submitted this Department's plans to CCTA on 17 October 1997.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department,
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 175
its agencies and other public bodies for which he is responsible completed the millennium computer compliance audits of systems; and if he will make a statement. [13570]
Mr. Fatchett:
We completed an initial scoping study in June 1996, followed by a detailed study of the problem and its likely impact on this Department's core IT systems in August 1996. Since then analysis and remedial work on individual systems is being carried out in priority order on those systems for which millennium-compliant replacement is not already planned.
Sir Teddy Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the total of public funds given to the European Movement in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and what record is kept of payments to this organisation by the EU. [14213]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
No Government funding has been made available to the European Movement in the current financial year. The European Commission does not publish a list of grants made to organisations providing information about Europe.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek to meet representatives from the Spanish Government to encourage a ban on bull fighting; and if he will make a statement. [13685]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
There are no plans to do so. We are committed to higher standards of animal welfare and will continue to work to achieve improved welfare protection at the EU level.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Australia concerning proposed changes in aboriginal land title. [13994]
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received urging him to apologise to the Indian people for the Amritsar massacre of 1918; and if he will make a statement. [13985]
Mr. Fatchett:
There were a number of representations over the 1919 massacre, whether addressed to the Queen or Her Majesty's Government, in advance of Her Majesty's successful visit to Amritsar where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh laid wreaths at Jallianwala Bagh.
Mr. Streeter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the meeting between his Department and the French Minister for European Affairs on 16 September. [14269]
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 176
Mr. Doug Henderson:
On 16 September I met Pierre Moscovici, French Minister for European Affairs, during his visit to London. We discussed a range of European issues, including employment and enlargement in particular. I outlined our approach to the Employment Agenda and in particular the need to address the real problems of competitiveness and employability facing workers in European countries and to make this agenda attractive to citizens. We discussed preparations for the British-French Summit and Luxembourg Special European Council, both of which focus on employment policies. British and French views on enlargement and handling the European conference are similar. I stressed the importance of related issues such as reform of the common agricultural policy. I also raised the urgent need for a solution to the problem of illegal immigrants arriving via Eurostar.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made at the United Nations concerning the proposed referendum on the future of the Western Sahara. [13997]
Mr. Fatchett:
We have not made any representations at the United Nations concerning the proposed referendum in Western Sahara.
As a permanent member of the Security Council, and a member of the Friends of Western Sahara Group at the United Nations, we are directly involved with the international efforts to secure a lasting solution to the dispute over Western Sahara led by Mr. Baker. We have assisted, and will continue to support, the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy.
Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has held with the Government of Kenya concerning human rights abuses; and if he will make a statement. [13986]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (Mr. McDonnell) on 29 October, Official Report, column 824.
Mr. McGrady:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications have been made to each regional division of the Housing Executive for each type of improvement grant; if she will indicate the length of time taken to process a grant application; and how long an applicant has to wait within each division for an inspection of property from the time of submission of an application form. [12554]
4 Nov 1997 : Column: 177
Mr. Murphy:
This is a matter for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. The chief executive has advised me that the information requested is as follows, in respect of the period April to September 1997:
(i) expenditure incurred already is £193,000.
(ii) 1997-98: £750,000
(iii) 1998-99: £1,907,000
(iv) 1999-2000: £1,250,000
| Region | Number of preliminary inquiries received(28) | Average time for inspection-- weeks(29) | Average time taken to process--weeks(30) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast | 1,296 | 16 | 29 |
| North East | 850 | 28 | 29 |
| South East | 596 | 52 | 25 |
| South | 616 | 79 | 31 |
| West | 1,062 | 72 | 32 |
(28) The grants scheme requires the completion of a preliminary inquiry form. This is not an application, but is the "trigger" for an inspection of a property. Figures are not held by grant type.
(29) These figures represent the average time lapse between receipt of a preliminary enquiry and the date of inspection and only relate to the main "improvement" (i.e. renovation and replacement grants).
(30) These figures represent the average time lapse between the date of inspection and the date of approval for a full application for renovation or replacement grant.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |