07 November 2008
By Tash Shifrin
Delivery of the new Employment and Support Allowance, which replaces Incapacity Benefit, will rely on manual processes and postal services for the first nine months because a new £295m computer system is not ready.
The delay comes despite assurances given in June by Lesley Strathie, then Jobcentre Plus chief executive, that the system would be 'business ready' for the ESA's October launch.
Strathie, now chief executive of Revenue and Customs, made the commitment in a letter responding to parliamentary questions.
In a statement on October 27, Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said the ESA had 'successfully gone live', adding that new business and IT systems were 'in place to support this'.
But he also admitted that the 'fully integrated IT system' would be tested at a 'trailblazer' site in Tees Valley. The remaining benefit delivery centres and jobcentres would 'operate an interim process to provide an opportunity for DWP to learn from initial deployment to ensure a fully optimised system rolls out nationally'.
A DWP spokeswoman confirmed that the interim process was based on the Jobseeker's Allowance Payment System and required 'clerical steps' to cover processes that were not automated, including use of the post to transfer new claims between offices.
The offices would make a phased move to the new IT and operating system, which would be completed by August 2009.
The spokeswoman said: 'This is a sensible strategy for managing risk because previous experience tells us that “big bang” implementations do not work.' The DWP did not expect any reduction in customer service levels as a result of using the interim model, she added.
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