Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Treasury has not signed off on IDS's universal credit, MPs told

Head of civil service admits Treasury is only releasing money for troubled Tory policy after 'conditional reassurances' on progress


Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, at Downing Street
Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary. His policy was criticised for 'weak management, ineffective control and poor governance'. Photograph: Elm/Rex

The Treasury has still not signed off on the government's troubled universal credit benefits reform, Sir Bob Kerslake, the head of the civil service, has revealed.

He made the admission that the project was being drip-fed money by the Treasury after Margaret Hodge, the chair of the Commons public accounts committee, repeatedly pressed senior civil servants about its financial status.

It the latest sign that the Treasury is keeping a very close eye on universal credit, the responsibility of work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, after it was criticised by the National Audit Office for its "weak management, ineffective control and poor governance".

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