Bug bust funds stay in England

Scotland and Wales have been excluded from the #26 million made available by the government to train Millennium Bug Busters.

Peter Callahan, lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University and author of the Bug Buster course for IT managers, said the Welsh and Scottish Offices were upset after discovering the money promised by prime minister Tony Blair was allocated to England alone.

Callahan said: 'The original #26 million was only for England.' He said the Welsh and Scottish Offices had agreed to find funding for training.

A representative of the Department of Employment and Education confirmed to PC Dealer the money had only been intended for England and the exclusion of Wales and Scotland had not been an oversight.

Mach said Wales and Scotland would have to find their own source of funding.

Callahan said the university discovered the subsidy disqualification when it distributed its course across England. He said the university had tried to push the course into Scotland and Wales but students taking the 10-day programme would have had to bear the full cost. The course was being offered by training companies at about #300 (PC Dealer, 1 July).

In Scotland, those looking for advice on the issue are referred to localised support centres that have yet to fully cover the country. A Scottish Office representative said it was unsure what level of training was going to be possible.