BBC News Online: Sci/Tech

Millennium bug could cripple government

They express "acute concern" and urge steps to "deal with the Millennium bug as a top priority". They fear financial chaos and disruption to health and education if government does not do more.

The letter also warns that "malfunctions in critical areas, such as air traffic control and defence, may put safety at risk."

The heads of Unilever, Cellnet, Lloyds, GEC, British Aerospace, and Marks and Spencer were among the letter's signatories.

Many computers and other electronic devices use only the last two digits to describe a year date and cannot distinguish between the year 2000 and 1900. They may all fail as internal clocks move from December 31 1999 to January 1 2000.

The government has set aside £370 million to tackle the bug in the public sector, but the head of the government-appointed Taskforce 2000, Robin Guenier says, "Government is underestimating the seriousness of this extraordinary problem."

He added, "We are surely facing an emergency the same magnitude as a war".

Lives at risk

In the National Health Service alone, Lord Renwick, chair of the Eurim parliamentary IT pressure group, estimates the cost of fixing the problem at £600m - triple the original figure.

In an internal letter, the Department of Health's Medical Devices Agency recently admitted: "The resources do not exist... to investigate every item of hardware and software in use... let alone put right all those that have not been correctly designed for the year 2000."

Between 600 and 1500 people could die as a result of Millennium problems in the NHS according to a report published in December. The prediction is based on the assumption that there will be a 10% failure rate of electronic equipment.

Relevant Stories

Survey says 'digital doomsday' fixes don't work (06 Nov 97 | Sci/Tech)
Insurers take steps to avoid 'millennium bug' payouts (10 Nov 97 | Business)
Serving time for the year 2000 (08 Jan 98 | Sci/Tech)
Mature skills to fight millennium bug (23 Dec 97 | Sci/Tech)
Looking East to answer millennium conundrum (08 Dec 97 | Special Report)
British business ignore millennium meltdown (24 Oct 97 | Sci/Tech)

Internet Links

The British-North American Committee
Computer Weekly - has an extensive section on the UK millennium problem
Taskforce 2000
The Year 2000 Information Centre
UK Government Information about the millennium bug
Software and Hardware Database of year 2000 information

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

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