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Sir Peter Emery (East Devon): Will the right hon. Lady accept in retrospect that this is an illustration of both sides of the House coming together and of the House working at its best? The right hon. Lady said that there was no reason for undue alarm, although she could not hit the notion on the head entirely. However, people are suggesting that there will still be a major problem when we move from 00 to 01, at the end of this year and the start of the next. Will she analyse that in the report which she says that she will publish in February?
Mrs. Beckett: The report may well touch on those issues. The right hon. Gentleman will know that that is one of the points at which there may be further problems, but everyone who has been involved with the project recognises that there will never be another crunch point when so many different occasions come together as did at new year. For those who think that this is not really the millennium and who have strong views about the technicalities, there may be great celebrations next year, but most of us will not be celebrating on quite the same scale. The combination of events exacerbated the scale of the problems and the difficulties of dealing with them.
Mr. Brian White (Milton Keynes, North-East): In her report, will my right hon. Friend take account of three lessons in particular? First, will she consider the international co-operation, particularly the presence of Russian officers at various centres over the new year? The same process should be repeated when other crises arise so that an exchange of information may continue. Secondly, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) courageously decided to put a great deal of information into the public domain against the conventional wisdom. Will the Government learn lessons from that about the benefits of freedom of information and open government, and will my right hon. Friend bring the point to the Home Secretary's attention? Thirdly, will she take note of charlatans who continue to provoke doom and gloom long after corrective action that they had asked for has been taken?
Mrs. Beckett: My hon. Friend, like my hon. Friends the Members for Sittingbourne and Sheppey (Mr. Wyatt) and for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Mr. Miller), took a great interest in the millennium bug and have followed things carefully. My hon. Friend is entirely right about international co-operation. The Government have received great credit across the Commonwealth because of the practical support and financial advice that we gave. He was correct, too, to say that the co-operation between the militaries of the United States and Russia was unprecedented, and I am confident that other benefits will arise.
My hon. Friend was also correct to refer to the risks taken, and the courage shown, by my right hon. Friend the Member for South Shields. I have said many times that Britain was seen as a world leader on the millennium bug, among the principal reasons for which were our communication across the national infrastructure and our
putting information into the public domain. People, including the United States co-ordinator, went on the record to recognise the worth of that.
My hon. Friend will recognise that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary shares his view about the worth of releasing information, but is concerned to ensure that the proper balance is struck in decisions about how to release information. My hon. Friend was quite correct in his general remarks about the benefits arising from our handing of the matter and the likelihood of long-term knock-on effects.
Mr. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield):
The Leader of the House rightly said that we owe a debt of gratitude to the teams of software writers who ensured that we did not endure a national disaster. Does she accept that many of them were freelancers? Does she realise that we face a second millennium bug when the Government impose IR35 on 5 April? Is she aware that that will drive thousands of software writers and other information technology experts out of the United Kingdom? Thank God we shall have no major millennium problem next year because, if we did, we would be unable to cope with it once the software writers had left this country to earn money abroad.
Mrs. Beckett:
The nature of the millennium bug project and the degree to which it affected the national interest meant that few people tried to make party politics out of it. One exception was the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. Redwood) who, along with his many more unconstructive and, with the benefit of hindsight, entirely nonsensical remarks, demanded that I should take the blame for anything that went wrong over the millennium. The other exception is the hon. Member for Lichfield (Mr. Fabricant)--typical.
Mr. William Thompson (West Tyrone):
I, too, declare my interest in the subject and thank the public services for defeating the bug. Does the Leader of the House think that the experience gained over the past year will help to ensure that future IT programmes for the various Departments will be finished on time; will not cost far in excess of the original estimates; will be bug free; and will work?
Mrs. Beckett:
Although I would be too cautious to say that that would be the case, the hon. Gentleman is entirely right to state that those are the characteristics of the project and that they teach us some important lessons. The project can be achieved, if it is tackled in the right way--with the right objectives and management. Not only does that teach important lessons: it undermines the arguments of those who, on many other occasions, on many other IT projects, say that it is impossible to do those things. It is not impossible, if we get it right. The challenge to us all is to get those projects right in the future.
Mr. Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead):
Those computer systems that were sensible enough to devote 11 bits to the date so as to allow four digits were resilient. However, doom and gloom will strike on 31 December 2048. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that she is working night and day in order to eliminate difficulties at that date?
Mrs. Beckett:
My hon. Friend makes an important point. He has now sensibly placed it in Hansard; 1.1 pm
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett): The business next week will be as follows.
Monday 24 January--Second Reading of the Disqualifications Bill.
The Chairman of Ways and Means has named opposed private business for consideration at 7 o'clock.
Tuesday 25 January--Remaining stages of the Electronic Communications Bill.
Remaining stages of the Disqualifications Bill.
Wednesday 26 January--Progress on remaining stages of the Financial Services and Markets Bill.
Thursday 27 January--Conclusion of remaining stages of the Financial Services and Markets Bill.
Friday 28 January--Private Members' Bills.
I will give the House as much as I am able of the provisional business for the following week.
Monday 31 January--Second Reading of the Utilities Bill.
Thursday 3 February--Motions on the Police Grant Report (England and Wales).
Motions on Local Government (Finance) Reports.
Friday 4 February--Private Members' Bills.
I fear that, in the slight uncertainty occasioned by the changes in business that I had to announce last night, I am not able to identify today the business that will be taken in the middle of the week. However, the House will want to learn that, subject to the progress of business-- I emphasise that point--I propose that the House should rise at the end of business on Tuesday 22 February and would not sit on 23, 24 and 25 February.
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire):
The House is grateful for next week's business and for the indication of the business for part of the following week. Although we welcome the announcement of what is not so much a constituency week but a constituency half-week, does the right hon. Lady agree that the value of such an announcement is enhanced the earlier that it can be made?
Will the right hon. Lady tell the House the date of the Budget? Will she tell us on which day next week there will be a statement by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the introduction of a new television tax?
In relation to today's business, I much regret that, at short notice last night, the Government decided to guillotine an important constitutional Bill. Although the Government put down motions to suspend the 10 o'clock rule in the name of the Prime Minister, when we reach 10 o'clock, they turn into a pumpkin and go home. The Government appear to prefer to curtail debate rather than to engage in it. Will the right hon. Lady confirm that it is vital that appropriate consideration is given to constitutional measures, even if it means sitting after 10 o'clock?
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