Universal Credit Failed IT System Write-Off Increased By £6m

The government has increased its initial write-off of a failed IT system for universal credit by £6m to £40.1m, but acknowledged that a further £90m of software is likely to be written down in its value over the next five years.  The precise loss to the taxpayer will depend on how much of the existing IT software is retained after it has been merged with a new IT system being developed by the Cabinet Office's Government Digital Service. Seeking to explain the £40m write-off, Mike Driver, finance director general at the DWP, said: "There is no use for the IT code built to run the computer systems. It has no future value. It is not going to generate any future return for the department." Read more on the Guardian website.