[BLAIR] VERY INTERESTING!! 'Speech by the Prime Minister the RT Hon Tony Blair MP
'But Government is about leadership and we can help in three ways'
'Deutsche
Morgan Grenfell point out that only six countries have
established national awareness-raising campaigns like
Action 2000.'
Compare this speech to the note that Al Gore sent to Ed Yourdon (see other post) Any comments? Tony Blair seems to know what he is talking about! Make your own conclusions.
John
_________________________________
On the Millennium Bug to the Action
2000/Midland Bank Conference
Barbican - Monday 30th March 1998
Since the election, more and more of you have been telling me
about the Millennium Bug. This culminated in a letter from
Unilever warning that it could cause a world-wide recession.
They quoted an example, which many of you will know, of an
aluminium smelting plant in New Zealand, where a programmer
had failed to allow for the leap year in 1996. The plant worked
perfectly well, until the end of 1996, but then, at midnight on 31
December, this small computer fault caused the plant to shut
down completely. Shortly after, as Tasmanian time reached
midnight, a sister plant failed in exactly the same way. It took
one million New Zealand dollars to get them started again.
We face a similar problem in the run up to the year 2000. But
rather than being in just one company on the other side of the
world, the problem is ticking away simultaneously inside many
computers, mainframes and electronic systems all over the
world.
This has happened because, to save memory space, many
software programmers recorded years using the last two digits
rather than all four - 98 rather than 1998. That means they can't
tell the year 2000 and the year 1900 apart - it sounds trivial but
it means that any of these systems could fail.
These failures have already started to happen. I was told last
week about a manager who noticed recently that his plant had
made three batches in a week of a product that was normally
made only once every three months. The Millennium Bug had
struck. The use-by date on the product was January 2000 but
the computer had interpreted that as 1900. It had therefore
decided the products were 98 years beyond their use-by date,
thrown them away and ordered another batch.
So the problem starts now, but we will gather pace up until the
year 2000. And it is serious because there are few, if any, areas
of modern life that are not touched by IT. If we don't tackle this
problem, the economy will slow as many companies divert
resources to cope with computer failures and some even go
bust. If we do, we can avert major problems and enhance our
reputation as a safe country to invest in.
That is why today's conference is so important and I thank
Midland Bank for having the foresight to organise it.
I would like to take a few minutes to explain what the
Government's role in all of this is. Government cannot solve this
problem alone. Nor indeed does it carry the lion's share of the
task. We will only move forward through the efforts of people like
you, running businesses and other organisations. But
Government is about leadership and we can help in three ways:
First, raising awareness of the need for action in the
private sector;
Second, dealing with the specific problems in the public
sector;
Third, ensuring the national and international
infrastructure is as ready as it can be.
Government has much to learn from how business is dealing
with this problem. The best companies have been working on
year 2000 plans for the last few years. But the rest need to
catch up with the best.
The Government's first role is therefore to raise awareness and
provide help. That is why we set up the Action 2000 campaign,
chaired by Don Cruickshank and why he launched the
Millennium Bug Campaign in January. In a short time, Action
2000 has already achieved much:
A national publicity campaign backed up by a website
A hotline and advice for small and medium businesses
Co-operation with the BBC on raising awareness of the
issue
Encouragement to large companies to support action up
and down their supply chains.
This is having an effect. Awareness of the year 2000 problem
amongst companies is now nearly 100%. But I am concerned
that over 25% of businesses have not yet taken action.
We must turn awareness into action, and we must do it now.
We are therefore announcing today that the budget for Action
2000's campaign will be raised to œ17m.
We are also announcing that Business Links are making the
Bug a priority. With Action 2000, they are training their staff to
provide advice to companies, including guidance about which
programmes and consultants to use.
But we need to do more. This is a unique problem and most of
us don't have the expertise to deal with it. Already, a shortage of
50,000 people is building up in IT, particularly in `bug skills'.
In the Budget we announced an extra œ100m for high technology
skills. Today I am announcing that a substantial part of this
extra money will go towards tackling the Millennium Bug. We
will use œ40 million to set up a network of centres of excellence
in IT training. A further œ30 million will be used to help small and
medium companies develop skills to assess and fix their Year
2000 problem. We will offer a grant worth on average œ1,300 for
each trainee sent on accredited short courses. Provided we get
the right response from business, it will be possible to train
20,000 `Bug Busters' between now and April next year. This will
make a real contribution to dealing with the Bug, and to bringing
people into employment and then into long term careers in IT.
The Government has listened to what business wanted. We
already have advice at the national level. Companies will now be
able to get high quality local advice from Business Links. And
between now and next April, we will train 20,000 bug busters.
We will continue to be open to suggestions as to what
Government can do. But the rest is up to you.
However, your efforts would be vain if they were not matched in
the public sector. Your supply chain is only as strong as its
weakest link. For your businesses to be year 2000 compliant,
you have to have confidence that, for example, the Inland
Revenue or the benefits system will also be.
The Government takes this task very seriously. One of the first
things which David Clark, the minister responsible for the public
services, did on coming to the office was to ask for an update of
the Government's year 2000 plans. He found that although not
much had been happening at ministerial level, on the ground,
many public organisations were motoring ahead. Since then, we
have been working to match that effort with ministerial drive, to
make sure that all parts of the public sector match the
standards of the best.
Margaret Beckett is chairing a key Cabinet
sub-committee - MISC4 - to co-ordinate action on the
Millennium Bug, across public and private sectors.
David Clark is chairing a group focusing on the public
sector and is reporting quarterly to Parliament.
We are making thorough progress and are announcing today our
first recommendations:
First, we are bringing together a central team to
co-ordinate the government's work on the year 2000
problem. This will be located in the Cabinet Office and
report directly to both Margaret Beckett and David Clark.
It is made up of some of the best people in Whitehall and
from business and will co-ordinate activity and chase
progress across government.
Second, we are spending what is needed on the problem.
Many of you have told me that each time you look at
your Year 2000 work, your estimate of the cost grows.
It's the same for us. Our initial estimate for the cost in
central government alone was œ370m. The latest
estimates now show this figure as nearly œ400m. This
estimate excludes the wider public sector such as NHS
Trusts and local government. Estimates which put the
total public sector cost as up to œ3 billion are reasonable
- although with the same possibility that they will
increase.
So resources are being found. But we are not complacent.
Without careful preparation, there could be major disruption to
essential government services. The Audit Commission has
looked at how things are going; when their assessment is
published in May, it will show that some hospitals and local
authorities are behind schedule. Frank Dobson has made clear
this is a board-level responsibility, so all NHS board members
must pay attention to this issue. By tomorrow night, every NHS
organisation will have reported to the Department of Health with
their plans and budgets for the Year 2000. The Audit
Commission will be publishing regular reports. I hope that future
ones show everyone is making rapid progress.
And we will be open about Whitehall's progress too. We
recently published on the Internet a full set of departmental
plans. We want to encourage open scrutiny and feedback. We
would welcome businesses views on the plans, so please get in
touch if they can be improved.
The Year 2000 team will have a key task in co-ordinating work in
the public sector. But just as important will be co-ordinating the
work of public and private sectors in preparing the national
infrastructure for the year 2000.
Here I am talking about those companies and organisations
which are vital to our day to day lives. Whether thegas, water
and electricity companies, the Benefits Agency transport
system. These are the parts of the infrastructure that we cannot
afford to fail in the next two years.
MISC4 is there to address these issues. This will involve a
thorough review of the key parts of the infrastructure, based on
dialogue with senior managers. We have this week
commissioned a study into the risks the country faces in the
run-up to the Year 2000. That research will inform action at the
local, national and international levels.
We need to act locally, because each area of the country faces
different risks. For example, Tyne and Wear have already set up
a Working Group with the emergency services and the utilities
to deal with the potential problems in their area. John Prescott
and Sir Jeremy Beecham, the Chairman of the Local
Government Association, are today writing to every local
authority leader asking them to do the same. The key here is
co-ordination at a local level and I expect every chief executive,
if they have not already done so, to start work this week.
We need to act nationally. Last week, Don Cruickshank hosted
the first meeting of the National Infrastructure Forum. This
brought 70 organisations together to share their experience and
start to build a co-ordinated plan both for preparing their
organisations and for dealing with the links between them.
It is no coincidence that one of the conclusions of that forum
was that these key organisations are some of the furthest
advanced. But it would be foolhardy not to prepare for the
possibility of failures. Every organisation must put in place
contingency plans in case failures occur in its own systems or
in other people's.
There are well established safety net arrangements for coping
with civil emergencies. We will make sure that they are properly
geared up to deal with any major problems which could be
caused by the Millennium Bug.
Finally, we need to act internationally, because in a global
economy other countries' problems are our own. We have
identified five priority areas where international connections are
particularly important: power, telecommunications, finance,
defence and transport. And we want to help poorer countries
address the problems the Bug will cause for them.
I am pleased to say that Robin Cook and Clare Short have been
working on a strategy for the international infrastructure, which
we are announcing today:
First, awareness raising. Global awareness of the
problem is patchy. In a recent survey by the World Bank,
only 37 out of 128 borrowing member countries said they
were even aware of the Millennium Bug. Deutsche
Morgan Grenfell point out that only six countries have
established national awareness-raising campaigns like
Action 2000. We need to do far more and the UK can
lead here.
I have already raised the subject at last month's
European Conference involving EU countries and those
wishing to join. We are putting the Millennium Bug firmly
on the agenda at this year's G8, the European Union
Summit and this week's Europe - Asia Summit - ASEM.
This will ensure the world's leaders are fully aware of the
problem and have discussed its implications.
Second, co-ordination. We need to be able to take an
overview of international activity, where the gaps are, and
then to co-ordinate efforts across the international
spectrum. We propose that the G8 set up a council of
experts to do this.
Third, action. Once awareness is raised, countries will
need the expertise to identify and solve their critical
problems. Developing countries will be particularly hard
pressed. We want a dedicated fund in the World Bank to
provide expert training and advice to developing countries
- the global bug busters that are needed. We have kicked
off the fund with a œ10 million contribution. We hope our
partners in the G8 and the EU will be able to contribute
too.
So, the Millennium Bug is a serious issue. Most people don't
realise how serious until they start to deal with it. However, I
believe that in Britain we are getting to grips with it. We are
working with our international partners to make sure that the
world can be as ready as possible for the year 2000. It is clear
from those contacts that this is not just a threat, but an
opportunity for Britain. Many of our companies are ahead of the
game, and will not only suffer less than their counterparts, but
also improve our reputation as safe partners to do business
with.
I urge you all through today's conference and by taking action
when you go back to the office tomorrow, to start to prepare for
that challenge within your company and with your suppliers. For
my part, I pledge that the Government will do all it can to help
you prepare and to prepare itself for the year 2000.
This is one deadline that is non-negotiable. Normal processes
will not meet it. But by treating this as an emergency, we can
make Britain one of the world's best prepared countries for the
run up to the new Millennium.
DIRECTOR OF ACTION 2000 APPOINTED
Gwynneth Flower has been appointed as full-time Director of
Action 2000 by Don Cruickshank, Chairman of Action 2000. The
appointment takes effect from 10th March 1998.
Welcoming Ms Flower to the Action 2000 team, Mr Cruickshank
said:
"Gwynneth Flower has a wide range of professional experience -
as an eminent electrical engineer, public administrator and
communicator - that will add great strength to Action 2000. I am
delighted that she has accepted this challenging role."
Biographical Notes
An electrical engineer by training, Gwynneth Flower was, until
recently, head of the Central London Training and Enterprise
Council (CENTEC), which covers a larger working population
and more businesses than any other. She played a key role in
the economic development of London as an active member of
London First and the Central London Economic Development
Partnership. She also participated in national work on further
education for people with learning difficulties and disability and
training for the adult unemployed.
A Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers and a Member
of the Worshipful Company of Engineers of the City of London,
Gwynneth Flower joined BP as Manager of Communications
Development n 1979. She moved to Plessey Electronic
Systems in 1982, and was made a Director in 1984. She moved
toGEC Marconi in 1985 as Director of Sales and Marketing,
where she was heavily involved in the company's diversification
into non-defence markets, principally Offshore Oil and Gas and
the Environment. In four years she increased exports from 2 per
cent to 65 per cent of turnover.
She is a visiting lecturer at the Royal Military College of Science
and the Civil Service Staff College, a school and college
governor, Director and Trustee of two national charities, a
member of the Parliamentary Taskforce On Waste
Management, and a non-executive director of Ordnance Survey
and the RAF Signals Engineering Establishment. She holds
Honorary Doctorates from the Open University and De Montfort
University.
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