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universal credit meltdown?
did you see the reports that work on the universal credit IT contract has been halted & hundreds of IT staff have stepped down ?!
‘Labour says senior sources among the five firms working on the IT contract have said work has been stopped. Although claims about IT difficulties have dogged the introduction of UC for nearly a year, the shadow work and pensions secretary, Liam Byrne, is convinced a huge new problem has emerged and is airing his concerns ahead of a debate on in the Commons on Wednesday.
His office says the DWP has made clear to the major contractors that hundreds of staff are no longer needed.
There have been suggestions from some ministers that work might be taken in-house as a result of the discussions.
Important figures, including the project chief, Malcolm Whitehouse, have already left the programme.’
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/mar/05/universal-credits-meltdown-claims-labour
[ Edited: 25 Mar 2013 at 11:10 pm by shawn mach ]“The DWP has announced that some of the initial north-west claims would be processed manually”
Its like George Stephenson saying he would take passengers on his new Rocket train so long as they are not families, are carrying no luggage, and they will need to travel by horse and cart
Its OK though, because those affected dont really matter do they?
Just dont mention it….....
[ Edited: 11 Apr 2013 at 11:00 am by Rehousing Advice. ]this from computerweekly -
‘Claims that Universal Credit IT contractors have been told to down tools are true, Stephen Timms, Labour MP for East Ham has told Computer Weekly.
The comments follow a hearing at the House of Commons, which saw minister for work and pensions Mark Hoban hit back at reports that IT contractors have walked off the project. He described the claims as a “load of rubbish”.’
ComputerworldUK reports that most of benefit calculations in UC pathfinder will be done manually using spreadsheet -
The DWP probably still have a stock of A14Ns (the carbonated calculation sheets used for Supplementary Benefit and issued to claimants as part of the decision notice before the invention of IT) in the back of a store room somewhere.
And everyone had to claim SB in person at their local benefit office just like it now appears will apply to the UC pilots.
We still have a copy of the Supp Ben regs in our library if that will help IDS too!
Seems UC will reproduce more of a ‘simplified’ benefit system than they planned for?
Yes A14N’s! The days when claims were done puntually, accurately, personally, face to face contact .....Remember those days quite fondly.
Spreadsheets!!!!
Funny this.
I have it on very good authority that there was some high level lobbying going on from HMRC to prevent the development going live in April. It was consistent with the APPTG report stating that the business case was flawed as despite HMRC having wanted a real time system for so long, the model in development would yield no benefit for HMRCs purposes.
Now all these reports…
It really does feel like the wheels are falling off IDS’s little bandwagon…
I’m glad I’m not working up north!
I’m glad I’m not working up north!
It would be interesting to hear from advisers in the pilot areas.
What info. is being given to local advice agencies etc by DWP about the UC pilots? Presentations from local Jobcentre Plus stakeholder teams that detail the processes etc ... or a stony silence from headless chickens?
[ Edited: 15 Mar 2013 at 10:14 am by Peter Turville ]more from http://www.computerweekly.com/
Former programme director of the Department for Work and Pensions’ Universal Credit policy, Malcolm Whitehouse, has denied the mega-project is at odds with the principles of agile development.
The use of agile processes, where programs are built in iterative, incremental ways, were lauded by government as a key difference in developing Universal Credit compared with other failed large-scale IT projects.
However, there are mounting concerns that the £500m already spent on the IT behind the £2.2bn project could be going to waste.
Several sources have told Computer Weekly that the programme has hit serious problems, with reports of suppliers told to down tools, budget over-runs, and key parts of the system being stripped back.
Since the start up of universal credit has been likened to the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester railway can I point out that on that occasion a government minister was run over and killed.
These are apparently the criteria you have to meet to be able to claim UC in the Pathfinder area -
Eligibility
To be eligible to claim Universal Credit during the Pathfinder (as opposed to existing benefits), you
must:
• live in a specified postcode area but not be homeless, in supported or temporary accommodation
or a homeowner
• be single, with no dependent children, a British citizen and aged between 18 years and 60 years
and 6 months
• be fit for work
• not have a claim to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
that ended in the last two weeks, except where ESA ended due to a decision that you no longer
have limited capability for work
• not be pregnant or be within 15 weeks after the expected date of birth;
• not be receiving existing benefits (including Housing Benefit) or Tax Credits or awaiting a decision
on, or be appealing against, a decision not to award any of those
• not be in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• have expected take home pay no higher than £270 per month (under 25s) or £330 per month (25
or over) and not have savings in excess of £6,000
• not have any caring responsibilities
• not be self-employed, in education or have to rely on an appointee; and
• have a valid bank account and National Insurance Number.
If you know this person you may want to let him/her know…...
it’s all going to be okay ...
The Department for Work and Pensions today announced that Howard Shiplee, currently an Executive Director at the Laing O’Rourke Group, will join the Department in mid-May to lead the delivery of Universal Credit.
Prior to his current role, Mr Shiplee was Director of Construction for the London 2012 Olympics - one of the largest regeneration and construction programmes in Europe. Before that he directed a number of major business transformation and construction projects including, most recently, the Ascot Racecourse redevelopment, the Network Rail/Thameslink performance upgrade, the GCHQ new building development, and Airport Terminal developments in Hong Kong and Manchester
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2013/mar-2013/dwp039-13.shtml
What on earth is Bob the Builder going to bring to the delivery of a complex IT system?
Was that Howard Shiplee or Harold Shipman?
Since the start up of universal credit has been likened to the opening of the Liverpool to Manchester railway can I point out that on that occasion a government minister was run over and killed.
What on earth is Bob the Builder going to bring to the delivery of a complex IT system?
But perhaps he could assist in delivering a similar misfortune to a government minister. Although as, in addition to being an experienced welf, I am also an experienced (steam) train driver (yes a sad confession) I would very much like to volunteer (especially if I can ‘play’ on the Rocket replica!).
Funny how that MPs death is always quoted as the first railway fatality - what about all the workers who were killed building the railways - ah but of course they don’t count then or now!
“Can we do it - No we can’t”
What on earth is Bob the Builder going to bring to the delivery of a complex IT system?
I imagine he’s going to come round ,look at the job,scribble on the back of an envelope and say something like ” I don’t know who did this before but its a mess"and then quote twice as much as expected with a start date in 2016. That’s what happens to me when I get a builder in!
slight delay?
New universal credit claims to be accepted in just one jobcentre from April 2013: Pathfinders in Wigan, Warrington and Oldham jobcentres will not now start taking claims until July
slight delay?
New universal credit claims to be accepted in just one jobcentre from April 2013: Pathfinders in Wigan, Warrington and Oldham jobcentres will not now start taking claims until July
One jobcentre….
[ Edited: 11 Apr 2013 at 11:02 am by Rehousing Advice. ]So like the Liverpool & Manchester railway and Stephenson’s Rocket (or perhaps more appropriately the Ashton Canal) - see above - DWP really are makeing every last nut & bolt of UC by hand!
Never mind Bob the Builder - are Sebastian Coe and Danny Boyle at a lose end at the moment? They have a proven track record of delivering a big bang on time (and for a few bucks less than the UC contractors?) - & with ‘New Upton Park’ as an added freebee - nice one!
I wonder if the staff at Ashton Jobcentre will have their gagging orders lifted as proposed for NHS staff?
Funny how this news was released on the eve of an extended BH.
I wonder if the staff at Ashton Jobcentre will have their gagging orders lifted as proposed for NHS staff?
Well at least they won’t have any targets.
So like the Liverpool & Manchester railway and Stephenson’s Rocket (or perhaps more appropriately the Ashton Canal) - see above - DWP really are makeing every last nut & bolt of UC by hand! .
At last! Breathing new life into the UK’s destroyed industrial economy.
yes it’s Good Friday. Peter Lilley on BBC five live Drive programme this evening carefully failing to deny that UC is in crisis.
Chair of the public accounts committe: Well Bob the builder, the delivery of UC is six months late and come in two million pound over budget. Can you explain? Bob the builder: I couldn’t get a skip.
And according to the Telegraph
everything is fine and benefit rates are all increasing…. so no need to worry about UC at all…
[/quote]
gareth said “Well at least they won’t have any targets.”[/quote]
Perhaps it will be more like the Lobby Lud / Colley Kibber scene in Brighton Rock
“You are the Universal Credit applicant and I claim my five pounds”
I imagine the streets of Tameside are crawling with investigative journalists trying to find him or her?
If Iain Duncan Smith uses the phrase ‘the reality is’ (see Telegraph report and endlessly on interviews on Radio 4 and probably everywhere else) one more time, I will EXPLODE!!!!!
I was quite taken by the notion, expessed in the ‘Telegraph’ piece above that claimants are going to get ‘generous’ benefit increases this year. This is clearly a new use for the word ‘generous’ that I wasn’t previously aware of, but then again I am quite middle aged and not very good at jargon. Can anyone with their finger on the pulse of government and an up to date vocabulary please explain!