This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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50 days until the Millennium - Henry McLeish praises progress in beating the bug
12/11/1999
All organisations responsible for delivering key Scottish services are ready for the Millennium Bug, according to the latest assessments of their work, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Henry McLeish said today.
Speaking during a visit to the National Driver Information and Control System, Scotland's National Network Control Centre in Glasgow, to mark 50 days until the Millennium, Mr McLeish said:
"As the new Millennium approaches, I have been keen to see for myself how we are tackling the Millennium Bug. There has been a great deal of hard work, and unprecedented levels of co-operation over three years, to ensure that Scotland can enjoy the New Year celebrations without the risk of material disruption to services.
"Good progress has been made, and with just 50 days until the Millennium, I am pleased to say that extensive independent assessments have confirmed that all of Scotland's key services have been given a blue rating. These assessments have been confirmed at Action 2000's National Infrastructure Forum. This means that there should be no material disruption caused by the effects of the Millennium Bug.
"Highlights of the latest Scottish assessments include:
- WATER: All three Scottish Water Authorities have been assessed as 100 per cent BLUE.
- NHS IN SCOTLAND: All 46 NHS organisations have been awarded a BLUE rating.
- SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE: The Scottish Prison Service has achieved a 100 per cent BLUE rating.
- FIRE: Scotland's eight fire brigades have been awarded a BLUE rating.
- POLICE: All forces have now been assessed as BLUE.
- LOCAL GOVERNMENT: All of Scotland's 32 local authorities have now achieved a BLUE rating.
- ROADS: All roads are BLUE rated.
"Despite this progress, there is still no room for complacency. I urge all organisations and businesses in Scotland to redouble their efforts to ensure the bug does not bite them. We must all be vigilant and carefully monitor critical systems to ensure everyone has an enjoyable New Year."
BACKGROUND
1. The millennium bug problem is the inability of many business systems and other electronic devices to recognise the date change from 1999 to 2000. This is because their timing devices only acknowledge the last two digits of any year and may interpret the century change incorrectly, interpreting the new date as 1900 and not 2000. The problem could affect business IT systems and embedded systems such as fire alarms, lifts etc with potentially serious consequences.
2. The National Infrastructure Forum is co-ordinated by Action 2000 on behalf of the Government. The overall Government objective is to ensure no material disruption to the essential public services of the UK.
3. Independent Assessment is intended to provide an assessment of the risk of material disruption to key services and enable organisations to put in place appropriate containment actions. The assessments use a 'traffic light' colour coding to indicate the state of readiness of the sectors investigated.
4. The traffic light system represents a rigorous programme of inspection and audit and is accepted by groups with statutory responsibility for provision of key services (regulators, government departments and inspectorates). It is used by those organisations carrying out independent assessments on behalf of these 'Responsible Bodies'.
The ratings are:
Description
White: Unable to form assessment with present level of information.
Red: The assessment indicates that there is a severe risk of material disruption to infrastructure processes and that timely rectification may not be possible.
Amber: The assessment indicates that some risk of material disruption to infrastructure processes exists, but that there is an agreed containment plan to rectify shortcomings.
Blue: The assessment has not identified any risks of material disruption to the infrastructure processes.
5. For more information on the National Infrastructure Forum, contact Action 2000 on 0171-497-2000, or visit their website at www.bug2000.co.uk
News Release: SE1283/1999
12 Nov 1999