Welfare Reform Should Be Delayed For a Year, Says Labour

Labour has called on the government to postpone the introduction of its flagship welfare reform, universal credit, by a year, arguing that there are too many unresolved problems with the scheme and not enough time to iron them out before the launch in October 2013.  Iain Duncan Smith is said to be angry at reports that the country's most senior civil servant, the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, has expressed scepticism about the policy, giving rise to a fear in Whitehall that the entire initiative could be dumped.  Meanwhile, new research from an independent thinktank, the Social Market Foundation warns that universal credit will push significant numbers of households into debt and suggests that instead of boosting individuals' financial resilience, it will worsen their financial circumstances.  MPs have voiced concerns over the number of areas where details remain unresolved, while charities continue to highlight elements of the reform that will adversely affect the people they support.  There are also persistent concerns over whether a complex new computing system, which needs to knit together detailed records from HMRC and DWP, will be ready in time and, politically, suggestions that the Treasury is no longer in harmony with the Department for Work and Pensions over the initiative.  Read more on the Guardian website.