Universal Credit at Risk of Collapse?

The flagship welfare reform has recently been described as “in meltdown” by its own staff.  In a survey by the PCS union, more than half of the staff admitted that they don’t think Universal Credit is an improvement for benefit claimants.Other key findings include:

·         90% of staff said they believe the multi million pound IT systems are less than adequate,

·         70% thought staffing levels were less than adequate,

·         Four in five said that the training given was less than adequate to prepare them for successfully working on the scheme,

·         Stress levels have increased amongst the majority of staff,

·         Two thirds said they were frequently asked to work overtime.

Read more on the Ready Rentals blog.

DWP on Verge of Meltdown over Big Welfare Projects

Department for Work and Pensions is facing "meltdown" over three of its biggest projects, Margaret Hodge, chairman of the Commons public spending watchdog, has said. Ahead of a damning report on government contracts with private firms, Hodge singled out the DWP as a department particularly struggling with the delivery of welfare changes, which involve managing a relationship with private IT contractors, back-to-work providers and benefit assessors. The public accounts committee report turns up the pressure on ministers to allow all government contracts to be subject to freedom of information (FOI) laws and examined by the National Audit Office (NAO). Read more on the Guardian website.