It seems that large amounts of money have been spent on the Universal Credit computer systems that can not be recouped. The Guardian reports ‘Mike Driver, the finance director general of the department, confirmed that the costs could be as much as £161m, while Norma Wood, the head of the Major Projects Authority, agreed that the system would have to write off at least £140m. Margaret Hodge, the committee's chair, said she had been sent an official PwC report into the project which highlighted concerns that there was a lack of ministerial accountability. Of 25 contracts costing at least £25,000 reviewed by accountants, only 11 appeared to have been signed off by ministers, she said.’
A recent National Audit Office report stated-
’•Officials were "unable to explain" the reasoning behind the timescales or their feasibility
•There were no "adequate measures" of progress
•Computer systems lack the function to identify potentially fraudulent claims, relying instead on manual checks
•£34m investment in IT systems has been written off
•The Department for Work and Pensions lacked IT expertise and senior leadership
•Delays to the rollout will reduce the expected benefits of reform’
David Cameron has recently described Universal Credit as ‘immensely complex’.
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