Why Has Universal Credit Been Such A Disaster For The Government?
Universal Credit: DWP battled with GDS, was overly ambitious with timelines and considered suing suppliers
What next?
These issues are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Universal Credit, and while there is some positivity in Timmins’ report, he emphasises that there remains an “awful lot” to be done, and says it is still too soon to tell if Universal Credit will finally do the business.
He suggests that the timetable could slip further, when taking into account rolling the ‘full’ service out nationally for new claimants, migrating those already on tax credits across to Universal Credit, and then migrating those already on Employment and Support Allowance.
“It remains very much a work in progress. Recovery is not the same as recovered,” he states.
The whole life costs of the programme are estimated at £15.8 billion. Therefore, at the absolute minimum, citizens should expect a six-in-one benefit system by 2022.
The success of the project at this stage will depend on whether costs will be saved in the long-term and whether qualified citizens are able to more easily claim benefits and use the system.
From an IT perspective, DWP will only hit the 2020 target if there is a well-formed strategy in place, and if the DWP isn’t hindered by a constant change of leadership and direction.
Figueras concludes that the public sector should be taking note of many of the IfG’s findings. She urges politicians and policy makers to “radically improve their understanding of what is possible in terms of systems and scale” to ensure that future projects don’t fall into the same trap as Universal Credit.
