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MPs to quiz Iain Duncan Smith over Universal Credit delays MPs to quiz Iain Duncan Smith over Universal Credit delays
(about 1 hour later)
Problems surrounding the implementation of a central pillar of government changes to the welfare system are to be examined by MPs.Problems surrounding the implementation of a central pillar of government changes to the welfare system are to be examined by MPs.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will be asked to explain why the new Universal Credit will not be paid to about 700,000 people until after a planned 2017 deadline.Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith will be asked to explain why the new Universal Credit will not be paid to about 700,000 people until after a planned 2017 deadline.
The Work and Pensions Select Committee will also ask about IT system problems.The Work and Pensions Select Committee will also ask about IT system problems.
Ministers have said the initial roll-out was a success.Ministers have said the initial roll-out was a success.
Mr Duncan Smith told the Work and Pensions Select Committee in July and the Commons in September that the 2017 plan remained in place.Mr Duncan Smith told the Work and Pensions Select Committee in July and the Commons in September that the 2017 plan remained in place.
'Total failure'
But he has now said some people receiving Employment Support Allowance may not be transferred in time.But he has now said some people receiving Employment Support Allowance may not be transferred in time.
Both Mr Duncan Smith and the official in charge of the project, Howard Shiplee, will give evidence to the committee.Both Mr Duncan Smith and the official in charge of the project, Howard Shiplee, will give evidence to the committee.
Universal Credit merges six working-age benefits - income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, child tax credit, working tax credit and housing benefit - into a single payment.Universal Credit merges six working-age benefits - income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, income support, child tax credit, working tax credit and housing benefit - into a single payment.
Labour said official figures showed only a tiny fraction of the numbers due to be using the new system by the time of the next general election in 2015 would be transferred on time.Labour said official figures showed only a tiny fraction of the numbers due to be using the new system by the time of the next general election in 2015 would be transferred on time.
Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves said ministers had "been forced to admit that they have completely missed their targets and Universal Credit will not now be rolled out before the election". Shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves accused Mr Duncan Smith and Prime Minister David Cameron of "a total failure of leadership".
"David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith repeatedly promised to deliver their flagship policy, Universal Credit, on time and within budget," she said. She said Labour, which agrees in principle with Universal Credit, had repeatedly told Mr Duncan Smith it was clear the project was in "disarray" and called for cross-party talks to try to get it back on track.
"That claim, and the credibility they staked on it, now lie in tatters." The offer was rebuffed and Labour had set up its own group to look at how to implement the project should they come into power at the next general election, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.