Chaos at the DWP

• after £612 million being spent, including £131 million written off or written down, the introduction of Universal Credit is now years behind schedule 
• the Minister of State for Disabled People admitted to the Work and Pensions Committee on 11 June 2014 that over 700,000 people are still waiting for a Work Capability Assessment
• the Office for Budget Responsibility in March 2014 found that projected spending on Employment and Support Allowance has risen by £800 million since December
• the Committee of Public Accounts in its First Report, HC 280, found that Personal Independence Payment delays have created uncertainty, stress and financial costs for disabled people and additional budgetary pressures for Government
• the Work Programme has failed to meet its targets
• the unfair bedroom tax risks costing more than it saves

From blog of Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, on chaos at the DWP re debate called by Labour on “Performance of the Department for Work and Pensions”.  It’s worth noting that usually the Government would table its own amendment in response to an Opposition motion, usually along the lines of ‘delete everything after “this House” and add glowing praise of the Government’s performance to date. They don’t appear to have done so today, so one can only conclude they agree with Labour on this occasion.