Universal Credit Costs Leap by More Than 20% to £15.8bn

The total lifetime cost of the Universal Credit welfare reform programme has increased by nearly £3bn in the past three years to £15.8bn, according to figures from the government’s Major Projects Authority (MPA). The last time the DWP calculated an official cost estimate for the whole project, in 2012, it was £12.85bn. But the latest annual report from the MPA shows that, as of September 2014 when the report was compiled, the cost is now expected to be more than 20% higher. Since the 2012 estimate, DWP has been forced to tear up its original plans for the troubled programme, writing off millions of pounds in scrapped IT development and revising the timetable for roll-out. That process, labelled as a “reset” in 2014’s MPA report, allowed the revised lifetime costs to remain under wraps until now. Read more on the Computer Weekly website.

Govt. Dodged Scrutiny of Universal Credit

The damage coalition cuts and bodge have done to Universal Credit was omitted from the National Audit Office assessment of the scheme in November.  The full story emerged a week after the auditor published its report. Had the NAO been able to put all the cards on the table, it may have discredited the coalition as the country entered its few months of mudslinging before the general election in May. The ambitious Universal Credit welfare scheme was in a worse state than the DWP had admitted when the auditor did its assessment. But this may have been caused more by government cuts in welfare to people in low paid jobs than its well-publicised IT problems. Read more on Computer Weekly.

DWP Ministers to Decide Whether to Scrap All of the £300m Universal Credit IT

Ministers at the DWP are to decide this month whether to immediately scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit (UC) IT systems and start again from scratch. Computer Weekly has learned that a review by UC director general Howard Shiplee will recommend two options for the future of the IT developed so far, which go even further than previous reports have suggested. One option would mean scrapping all the work done so far, thereby admitting it is not fit for purpose, and bringing most of the development of new IT systems in-house under the control of the Government Digital Service (GDS). Option two would involve continuing to use some of the existing IT to support the current Pathfinder pilot projects, but developing new systems for the full roll-out – effectively delaying any decision to throw away all the work completed so far. Read more on the Computer Weekly website.

Ministers to Decide Whether To Scrap Universal Credit IT

DWP ministers are to decide whether to immediately scrap all of the £300m Universal Credit IT systems and start again from scratch. There are two options;

One option would mean scrapping all the work done so far, thereby admitting it is not fit for purpose, and bringing most of the development of new IT systems in-house under the control of the Government Digital Service (GDS).

Option two would involve continuing to use some of the existing IT to support the current Pathfinder pilot projects, but developing new systems for the full roll-out – effectively delaying any decision to throw away all the work completed so far.

Whichever option is chosen, sources suggest it is likely that all the existing IT work will eventually be scrapped. Read more on the Computer Weekly website.

Universal Credit IT: Separating the Truth and the Lies

Iain Duncan Smith has been touring TV and radio stations and facing questions in the House of Commons to try to present a positive light on the scathing criticism of his flagship welfare reform programme by the National Audit Office (NAO).  He is pointing the finger at IT experts in the DWP and claiming responsibility for putting the project back on track after its now thoroughly well-documented problems. It’s just about all that Duncan Smith can do without losing face even further.  Make up your own mind about whether this is a project that can be saved – check out a list of past statements by DWP staff and ministers, and what we now know was actually happening at the time on the Computer Weekly website.

Universal Credit Will Cost Taxpayers £12.8bn

The government’s recent review of major projects revealed that the flagship Universal Credit welfare programme will cost nearly six times more than previously billed.  The DWP said Universal Credit will cost £12.8bn – not the £2.2bn figure that has previously been claimed – because it needs to run existing benefits in parallel as it brings in the new scheme. The Cabinet Office Major Projects Authority Annual Report revealed the whole-life cost of Universal Credit to be £12.8bn, over £10bn more than DWP said it would cost when it put the programme before Parliament in 2010.  Read more on the Computer Weekly website.