Iain Duncan Smith and the Department for Work and Pensions have taken a mauling today from the National Audit Office. The watchdog’s evaluation of Universal Credit concludes that thus far the scheme ‘has not achieved value for money’, is ridden with delays and that governance and management have been inadequate. The October roll out is now to be replaced with half a dozen more pathfinders and ambitions for 2014 pared back.
Responding to criticisms during a special debate in the House of Commons, the Secretary of State noted that it is better to test its implementation slowly than make a leap in the dark. Given the social costs of getting the implementation of Universal Credit wrong, he is surely right. But, it is only worth delaying if useful work is done in the interim – and, here, the government should have much to ponder on.
First, real questions should be asked about what the government can realistically learn from the pathfinders.
The pilots that are underway are only testing the scheme on a fraction of the simplest benefits claims. For instance, claimants have to be newly claiming a benefit, single, fit for work, not have caring responsibilities and without dependent children (in fact the list goes on). The NAO suggests that this very limited (and unrepresentative) sample will be replicated in the additional six pilots that will run from October.
What is more, while the pathfinders have been testing the new online process and the claimant commitment, they have not been assessing many of the most important components of Universal Credit. For instance, much will rest on the operability of the real-time information system devised to get up-to-date information from employers on earnings and to match this with DWP and HM revenue & Customs data. But, much of this leg-work is being done manually.
Second, the delay provides an opportunity for the government to revisit some of the design flaws identified already that cannot be solved within the current limited pilot schemes. These include addressing the likelihood that families will fall into debt due to the move to monthly payments in arrears and the impact of the change to housing benefit payments, as the Social market Foundation reported in its publication Sink or Swim.
The NAO have shown that IT is causing a major headache for the government under this scheme. But, if the delay is used as a chance to address its future problems, the computer saying ‘no’ could be a blessing in disguise.
