Benefit reforms in chaos: Byrne
The Government's working age benefit reforms through the introduction of universal credit are on time and on budget, the Work and Pensions Secretary has insisted, after Labour claimed the scheme was "collapsing into chaos".Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne maintained the changes being made through the reforms were running behind during a heated exchange with Iain Duncan Smith in the Commons.
Mr Duncan Smith hit back saying the universal credit system would do more to get people back to work and "rectify the mess" left by the last Labour administration.
Mr Byrne said: "The minister for employment said to the House that all out of work benefits were supposed to be treated as universal credit applications from October 2013. The DWP newsletter from last month says that now won't happen until mid 2014, nine months late.
"The project is supposed to cost £2 billion, but answers to the member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) say it's £100 million over budget."
He added: "Universal credit is not on time and it's not on budget and the Secretary of State doesn't know what's going on in his own department. So is it any surprise the Prime Minister had to announce another revolution in welfare reform this morning, because the last one appears to be collapsing into chaos?"
Mr Duncan Smith dismissed the data given by Mr Byrne.
He replied: "Universal credit is on time, on budget and it's so typical of him - he knows that universal credit is a programme that we introduce over four years. He needs to go and check his figures again.
"There's something really rather pathetic about the way he pauses on little figures and seems to think that that spells something at all.
"Universal credit will do more to get people back to work, will rectify the mess that they left, it is on time and it is on budget."
He added: "Universal credit is not on time and it's not on budget and the Secretary of State doesn't know what's going on in his own department. So is it any surprise the Prime Minister had to announce another revolution in welfare reform this morning, because the last one appears to be collapsing into chaos?"
Mr Duncan Smith dismissed the data given by Mr Byrne.
He replied: "Universal credit is on time, on budget and it's so typical of him - he knows that universal credit is a programme that we introduce over four years. He needs to go and check his figures again.
"There's something really rather pathetic about the way he pauses on little figures and seems to think that that spells something at all.
"Universal credit will do more to get people back to work, will rectify the mess that they left, it is on time and it is on budget."
© 2013 Press Association