Dame Angela Eagle MP Standing up for Wallasey
Earlier this month, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending watchdog, savaged Universal Credit. The NAO is the independent financial watchdog which assesses on Parliaments’ behalf whether or not the Government is getting value for money from the public funds it is spending on our behalf.
The NAO report claims that Universal Credit fails to deliver promised financial savings or employment benefits and far from helping people, it actually leaves thousands of vulnerable claimants in hardship. In fact, Universal Credit is so unfit for purpose that it may end up costing more than the benefit system it replaces, and the Government cannot prove it helps more claimants into work. As a result, it is unlikely to ever deliver value for money.
Esther McVey, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, came to the House of Commons to give a statement on the report after it was published, and on three occasions, asserted that the report did not take account of all the facts relating to Universal Credit and that the NAO had said that the roll-out of Universal Credit needs to be accelerated.
In light of these comments, the Auditor General, Sir Amyas Morse, took the unprecedented step in publishing his letter to Esther McVey in a bid to correct the public record, as she had refused to meet with him. It is extraordinary to an Auditor General who has to write an open letter to a serving Secretary of State admonishing her for misleading the House of Commons Far from suggesting that the roll-out should be accelerated, the Auditor General was at pains to point out that the report actually said that the DWP needs to fix errors in the system and ensure that any further roll-outs are not carried out until the system is ready. The figures that were disputed by McVey had previously been agreed by senior officials from her department.
I have consistently voted against the roll out of Universal Credit, and the Labour Party have been calling on the Government to pause the current roll-out of the benefit, to fix the system and ensure that it is fit for purpose. However, time and time again the Government have chosen to ignore this opposition and instead pressed ahead with this vanity project, ignoring the detrimental impact this has had on people’s lives.
Yesterday, McVey was forced to appear before the House of Commons, and today, during another Urgent Question about her statements, I asked that she now acknowledges that the report was accepted by the DWP, and that she shows some respect for the NAO and admits that she was wrong. Her apology was very grudging and she continued in her response today to demonstrate that she has little understanding of facts or truth even when she is confronted with evidence of them.
Earlier this month, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending watchdog, savaged Universal Credit. The NAO is the independent financial watchdog which assesses on Parliaments’ behalf whether or not the Government is getting value for money from the public funds it is spending on our behalf. The NAO report claims that Universal Credit fails to deliver promised financial savings or employment benefits and far from helping people, it actually leaves thousands of vulnerable claimants in hardship. In fact, Universal Credit is so unfit for purpose that it may end up costing more than the benefit system it replaces, and the Government cannot prove it helps more claimants into work. As a result, it is unlikely to ever deliver value for money.Esther McVey, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, came to the House of Commons to give a statement on the report after it was published, and on three occasions, asserted that the report did not take account of all the facts relating to Universal Credit and that the NAO had said that the roll-out of Universal Credit needs to be accelerated. In light of these comments, the Auditor General, Sir Amyas Morse, took the unprecedented step in publishing his letter to Esther McVey in a bid to correct the public record, as she had refused to meet with him. It is extraordinary to an Auditor General who has to write an open letter to a serving Secretary of State admonishing her for misleading the House of Commons Far from suggesting that the roll-out should be accelerated, the Auditor General was at pains to point out that the report actually said that the DWP needs to fix errors in the system and ensure that any further roll-outs are not carried out until the system is ready. The figures that were disputed by McVey had previously been agreed by senior officials from her department. I have consistently voted against the roll out of Universal Credit, and the Labour Party have been calling on the Government to pause the current roll-out of the benefit, to fix the system and ensure that it is fit for purpose. However, time and time again the Government have chosen to ignore this opposition and instead pressed ahead with this vanity project, ignoring the detrimental impact this has had on people’s lives.Yesterday, McVey was forced to appear before the House of Commons, and today, during another Urgent Question about her statements, I asked that she now acknowledges that the report was accepted by the DWP, and that she shows some respect for the NAO and admits that she was wrong. Her apology was very grudging and she continued in her response today to demonstrate that she has little understanding of facts or truth even when she is confronted with evidence of them.You can watch the video below for more ↓
Posted by Angela Eagle on Thursday, July 5, 2018