Welfare to Work

– DWP’s wishful thinking on cuts

DWP has no clear plans for savings

 

According to the Public Accounts Committee the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has no clear plans for making the savings that have been asked of it in the drive to cut back on the country’s deficit.
The department will save £2.7bn by 2015 but as it will be implementing major reforms of the welfare system including the introduction of the Universal Credit it is likely that the new IT system could push the department over budget.

Whilst DWP intends to achieve over half of its savings this year the committee said it was important that the reductions in £7.8bn running costs don’t lead to an increase in expenditure on benefits and pensions (currently estimated at £156bn). The committee said that the absence of a clear model of how the department would operate in future creates uncertainty and risks…
Committee chair Margaret Hodge said: “The department does not yet have a clear plan for delivering these savings and we are concerned about its ability to do so effectively.

“The transition to universal credit, for example, will depend heavily on the development of a new IT system with HMRC to a very tight timetable. This committee’s experience is that such projects are rarely delivered to time, budget and specification, and any delays could put the department’s ability to deliver savings at risk.”

She added: “We are also concerned by the extent to which running cost reductions depend on the department’s optimistic assumption that, in future, 80 per cent of Jobcentre Plus customers will deal with their claims online, even though at the moment only 17 per cent do so.

“……It is vital that cuts in running costs do not lead to an increase in expenditure on benefits and pensions. F

“In future, the department must measure the impact of running cost reductions on benefits and pensions expenditure. The department must also ensure its plans for spending and cost reductions are transparent. At the moment, it is unable to reconcile its proposals for reducing costs with the savings required in the spending review.”

 

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Eyullahemaye Henry

Operations and Information

Work programme

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