In a report, the Audit Commission, which scrutinises the spending of public money, said some good progress had been made. But it also showed a widening gap between some local authorities and poor preparations from district councils. The majority of authorities and trusts deserve congratulations for the progress they have made on this issue. Most still have much to do and it is of considerable concern that an important minority are lagging behind. The Millennium Bug is expected send disrupt computer systems unless action is taken to ensure they recognise the year 2000.
District councils are responsible for welfare benefits, housing and environmental health.
But this report shows that councils know that the clock is ticking and are taking action to defeat the bug. This is not an easy problem to solve but local government is determined to beat it. The National Health Service comes out of the report well. The report comes as a survey by the Cap Gemini organisation suggests that the UK is falling behind the rest of Europe in its preparations for the bug. Britain has slipped from second to eighth in a list of 12 countries.