Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions secretary, commenting on reports that the government is at risk of breaching its self-imposed cap on welfare spending, said:

“It is clear the Department for Work and Pensions is at crisis point with rising Employment Support Allowance costs threatening to breach the government’s cap on welfare spending.

“The Work Capability Assessment is in meltdown, there are huge backlogs for Personal Independence Payments, a Work Programme that’s failing disabled people and the chaos of Universal Credit. It is a catalogue of total failure and threatens huge costs to the taxpayer. David Cameron must urgently get a grip of this chaotic department.”

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