DWP Blowing £1.3million Checking Benefit Cap By Hand Because Computers Are Not Ready

Ministers are blowing £1.3million on staff to carry out checks for its flagship benefits cap – because the computer system needed to do the job has yet to be built.  The Government has been forced to take on 112 workers to check what each household receives and if any are exempt from the cap.  Labour’s Stephen Timms said “We need urgent assurances that this latest IT disaster won’t plunge yet another scheme into chaos.” The blunder emerged in a Parliamentary answer from Tory minister Mark Hoban.  He said: “The check is to verify the benefits paid to a household and to check whether any exemptions should apply.  “This process will remain in place until an automated solution is developed and ­introduced.”  Read more on the Daily Mirror website.