THe North West Chamber of Commerce is suggesting a New Year's resolution for local firms - beat the Millennium Bug.

It is believed that nearly half of the small and medium-sized businesses in the North-west have yet to commit resources to the Year 2000 issue.

Terry Cook, director of the North West Chamber, said: "Businesses can vow to improve their relationships with suppliers, make more money, grow their business, develop their staff, sell more product, sell more services - the list is endless, but every single one of those hopes for 1999 will be irrelevant if they do not fully prepare to beat the Bug.

"The real aim for the many small businesses who are lagging behind in their preparations for the Bug should quite simply be survival."

Mr Cook said the early part of the New Year should be the time for testing systems.

Also, those businesses which had already implemented a Year 2000 programme should talk to companies in their supply chain - customers and suppliers - to ensure business continuity.

Action 2000, the Government-backed Millennium Bug campaign, believes it is not too late for companies to protect the systems and processes critical to their operation.

The Action 2000 free information line is on 0845 601 2000 and the website is www.bug2000.co.uk

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