demand notes in respect of materials and services provided to the Council had not been issued promptly. I estimate that the reve
in 1983-84 and 1984-85 has suffered a loss of $277,000 by way of interest forgone.
45. In response to my enquiry, the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services has informed me that he agrees that the workshop services in question should have been charged at the workshop overhead absorption rate, that control procedures in respect of costing and recovery are being amended to eliminate the fault and that all special requests where recovery has not yet been made, including work in progress, will be charged at the workshop overhead absorption rate. The Director has also informed me that appropriate action has been taken to ensure that demand notes are issued promptly in future. I have suggested to the Director that action should also be taken to recover past undercollections.
EXPENDITURE
46. Government computer installations. Inadequacy of disaster recovery planning. In their Seventh Report issued in December 1984 the Public Accounts Committee expressed their concern over the lack of a systematic approach to adequate disaster recovery planning for the Government's computer installations. The Public Accounts Committee were particularly concerned at the lack of effective action, despite acceptance in 1979 by the Government of a recommendation by the consultant appointed to review the operation of the Government Data Processing Agency, on the need for disaster recovery planning. The Public Accounts Committee went on to recommend that with the increasing use of computers by the Government an overall Government policy on disaster recovery planning should be established without delay.
47. A summary of the action which has so far been taken is contained in paragraphs 48 to 54 below.
48. In December 1984 the Director of Accounting Services forwarded a draft report on the Treasury computer disaster recovery plan to the Data Processing Manager. The draft report was a management summary of what would be a detailed plan, designed to enable decisions on implementation options to be taken. The draft report covered identification of the risks, preventive measures, security measures, identification of essential workload, measures to ensure that the essential workload can be completed and the resource implications.
49. In January 1985 the Data Processing Manager requested all other departments with computer installations, in conjunction with their respective policy branches, to define the scope and extent of disaster recovery required taking into account the importance of the application to the Government machinery. The position of the Government Data Processing Agency's own central computer installations was also examined, in particular the availability of potential alternative computing arrangements within the Government.
50. In the light of the requirements of the Treasury, all other departments and the Government Data Processing Agency's own central computer installations, the Data Processing Manager produced a paper for consideration by the Computer Committee which is chaired by the Secretary for Administrative Services and Information. The paper recommended a policy for disaster recovery planning and, as back-up facilities in the event of a disaster, the provision of two standby computer centres equipped with the necessary hardware and software at a total estimated cost over five years of $68 million, including staff.
51. The Data Processing Manager's paper was discussed by the Computer Committee in June 1985. The Computer Committee adopted the policy as recommended but not the provision of the proposed back-up facilities.
52. The policy on disaster recovery planning adopted is as follows:
-all computer applications to be implemented must be accompanied by an adequate disaster recovery plan to take into account the minimum level of service to be provided to or by departments in the event of a disaster (a disaster here is defined as "a circumstance which effectively precludes the provision of the normal computer service, the resumption of which will take a minimum period of 6 months". The minimum level of service is defined as "the level of service which a department must have to be able to carry out its essential functions in a realistic mode for a minimum period of 6 months."); and
for existing computer applications, adequate disaster recovery measures should be implemented as soon as possible as it takes time to plan, develop and try such measures.
53. With regard to the provision of back-up facilities in the event of disaster, the Computer Committee decided that a disaster plan with a list of vital systems, and the reasons for their inclusion, should be prepared, together with an indication of what such a plan is providing. After review by the Computer Committee the plan, without costs, would be forwarded to the Chief Secretary's Committee to establish the needs, subsequent to which costs would be determined. The Computer Committee subsequently requested all departments to provide the necessary information on all major and critical systems by the end of July 1985.
54. I have been advised recently by the Secretary for Administrative Services and Information that in the light of the information provided by the departments a draft paper for the Chief Secretary's Committee is being prepared for submission to the next Computer Committee meeting in October 1985, and if approved the paper will be formally
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Private notes are available after approval.