With these concerns in mind, Beckett has demanded more information on progress at the Inland Revenue, the National Insurance Contributions Office, the Planning Inspectorate, and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. She said she was also worried about the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and areas of the Ministry of Defence. She made no comment, however, on the fact that, while public-sector organizations are working hard on their systems, little attention is being paid to their dependence on a wider supply chain. The Bank of England, for example, has identified 286 critical suppliers, but only has compliance assurances from 255 of them. At the Post Office, only 43 of 55 suppliers said they are compliant.
Some organizations have yet to put real pressure on suppliers.
The government has adopted this policy, too. Little work appears to have been done in this respect. The HSE said it could not give details of how it would continue to operate at the start of next year if problems occur. Its Millennium Continuity Committee is producing a contingency plan, which it said it hopes to complete by the end of this month.