Iain Duncan Smith’s doomed Universal Credit scheme cost £225k PER PERSON

Botch job: Iain Duncan Smith

The cost of delivering Iain Duncan Smith’s troubled Universal Credit scheme is £225,000 for each person on it, it was claimed today.

The project has already cost the taxpayer £612million and has been dogged by delays and IT blunders.

Mr Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, had promised one million people would be receiving their welfare payments under the scheme by April this year.

But figures show only 2,720 claimants have been transferred onto the Universal Credit so far - a cost of £225,000 per person.

The universal credit bundles together the six main benefits - jobseeker’s allowance, income support, employment and support allowance, working tax credit, child tax credit and housing benefit - into a single payment.

In September 2103, Mr Duncan Smith told Parliament it would be delivered “on time and within budget”.

But the roll-out has been delayed three times and is now only available under a small number of pilot schemes.

The Department of Work and Pensions has had to write off £130million in IT costs and it emerged this week that the executive brought in to rescue the project, Howard Shiplee, has been off sick for a month.    

Shadow Welfare minister Chris Bryant MP said: “Iain Duncan Smith’s flagship policy has been plagued with delay after delay from the outset and millions of pounds have been wasted.

“We were once told Universal Credit would be on time and on budget and that a million people would be on the system by April this year, but this has come to nothing. It is staggering that the Government has spent £225,000 per person on this project.

“With poor initial decisions by Ministers and endless indecision from Downing Street putting the whole scheme in jeopardy, it is increasingly difficult to have any confidence in the Government’s handling of welfare.”

A spokeswoman for Mr Duncan Smith said: “If Labour think Universal Credit can be brought in without spending any money up front it’s no wonder they cost taxpayers so much by botching the introduction of tax credits so badly.

“Over 6 million people will be claiming Universal Credit by 2017, which will bring a £35billion benefit to society, and our safe rollout continues with more people claiming every day.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/iain-duncan-smiths-universal-credit-3115946#ixzz2sXSdPtf4
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When is this Tory scumbag going to be sacked?
Universal Credit will never be implemented anyway!

Fucking Tory cretins.
Kick the fuckers out!

fcuking labour cretins,

never let em in!

Mr Catman, you do understand that it will "appear" cheaper and cheaper as more people are placed on universal credit, don't you?

They haven't actually spent £225,000 on each of those scroungers.

BigAndy9 wrote:Mr Catman, you do understand that it will "appear" cheaper and cheaper as more people are placed on universal credit, don't you?

They haven't actually spent £225,000 on each of those scroungers.

The Tories won't win the next election, so it will never be implemented.

Yes they have spent £225,000 per person.

No offence Mr Catman, but when I posted a thread about Ed Milliband, it was all true - nobody in their right mind will vote for such a wet lettuce.

Cameron was just lucky that his opponent was weaker than him.

And I think he's come up trumps with Millibland.

Universal credits in essence make sense but it was obviously a monumental task to try to tie up all the different benefits in to one.

BigAndy9 wrote:No offence Mr Catman, but when I posted a thread about Ed Milliband, it was all true - nobody in their right mind will vote for such a wet lettuce.

Cameron was just lucky that his opponent was weaker than him.

And I think he's come up trumps with Millibland.

http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/

 ::sexbnan: ::sexbnan: ::sexbnan: