MPs give tentative go-ahead to disability system
Initial £31m investment will precede legislation creating new allowance
MPs have given the go-ahead for an initial £31m investment in a £319m welfare IT project, the cost of which has already risen eight per cent since its inception.
The Work and Pensions Committee says political considerations were behind its 'cautious approval' for work to start on the system, which is designed to raise the number of people with disabilities in employment, rather than because the MPs are convinced it will work.
In a report recommending funding be released ahead of the legislation creating the new allowance, the committee said the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that the original £295m cost of the scheme could rise by as much as 40 per cent - or £80 million - if it is not possible to re-use existing code.
'We do not believe that there are grounds for the House to reject this request ..... We do not wish to stand in the way of measures that we are told by the department will ensure [the new benefit's] orderly and timely implementation,' said the committee.
The MPs say they will keep a 'watching brief' and reserve the right cross-examine officials if they are not satisfied with the way the money is being spent.
The NAO says the department's cost estimates were 'projections only' and are therefore only relevant to considerations of the advance funding request.
'If development turns out to be more difficult than the department currently expects, it could have a knock-on effect on the costs of the whole project and could also threaten delivery by the target date [of 2008],' said the NAO.
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