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Treasury have not fully approved Universal Credit at all - IDS caught lying again...

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    Jol44Jol44 Posts: 21,048
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    #2
    This guy really does need to be pulled up for his blatant untruths.
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    David TeeDavid Tee Posts: 22,833
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    #3
    Key exchanges in Parliament today.
    Mr Duncan Smith:
    .....
    I have made it quite clear and I stand by what I said: the strategic outline business case plans for this Parliament have been approved. The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Esther McVey) made that clear the other day, and that is the statement that we stand by.

    The next phase, as I said in my statement is approved. On the strategic outline business case for the overall lifetime of the programme, that is being discussed right now and we expect approval of that plan shortly. I have said categorically that all the expenditures and the work in this Parliament are approved. The reality is that it is approved. The point he needs to get round his head is that, on the figures he gave earlier—the billions—the National Audit Office, the Public Accounts Committee and the Work and Pensions Committee agree that we need careful controls in place. It is therefore natural that we have sought that approval at each stage. My right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary has approved all of those elements.

    .....
    Margaret Hodge (Barking) (Lab):
    As Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, I support the intent of the policy, but I have repeatedly sought assurances on the status of universal credit. On Monday, I asked Sir Jeremy Heywood, Sir Nick Macpherson and Sir Bob Kerslake four times whether the business case had been signed off by the Treasury. There were a number of unscripted pauses, but Sir Jeremy told us:

    “I cannot speak for the Treasury.”

    Sir Nick Macpherson told us:

    “It is signed up, up to a point”,

    before Bob Kerslake finally admitted:

    “I think we should not beat about the bush. It has not been signed off.”

    I plead with the Secretary of State that he should be open and honest with hon. Members rather than hide behind smoke and mirrors to create a false impression that universal credit is on time, in budget and delivering in full its intended objectives.

    Mr Duncan Smith:
    I respect the right hon. Lady enormously for the job she does, but I say to her clearly that it was on the recommendations of her Committee and the NAO that we instigated—by the way, I think this is the way ahead for all future programmes—a programme in which, at every stage and in every separate part of development, we would have approvals from the Treasury and with the Cabinet Office, which is what is going on at the moment. My point is that the answer that Mr Kerslake, the head of the civil service, gave was correct in the sense, as I have said today, that the overall strategic business case for the full lifetime of the programme is in discussion right now for that completion. However, all the elements that are relevant—the strategic business plan for this Parliament, which includes all the roll-out, all the investments, of which the right hon. Lady will be aware, and the roll-out through to the north-west—have been approved. There will be no further need for approvals this Parliament, so the reality is quite clear: universal credit is on track and is rolling against the plan we set out last year. All those approvals are agreed, and we hope that the final element, which would logically come at the end of the process, will be agreed shortly with the Chief Secretary.
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    RichievillaRichievilla Posts: 6,179
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    #4
    Mr Duncan Smith looked rather uncomfortable as he left parliament ;-)

    http://politicalscrapbook.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/iain-duncan-smith-liar-pants-on-fire.jpg

    Universal Credit is way behind the promises that Duncan Smith originally made, with the caseload for April 2014 very likely to be less than 1% of that promised. Even now it is only the very most basic of basic cases that are going onto UC, and those are only in a tiny minority of jobcentres. UC to date has been another spectacular Duncan Smith inspired failure, even the name "Universal" is dishonest as it is anything but universal.
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    jenziejenzie Posts: 20,821
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    #5
    so who NEEDS to "sign it off" before it becomes official then?
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    mimik1ukmimik1uk Posts: 46,701
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    #6
    jenzie wrote: »
    so who NEEDS to "sign it off" before it becomes official then?

    both parties are sort of telling the truth

    the overall programme of universal credit will have a strategic business case , this has not been signed off

    IDS is saying that doesn't matter as he has treasury approval for the current phase of the programme and that is all that is required

    the potential issue with this approach is that the treasury is committing money on a phase by phase basis , and the scope of these phases seems to be continually being changed, without having the assurance that the overall business case for the programme is sound
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