Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, speaking ahead of a Commons debate today (Monday 30 June 2014) on the chaos within the Department for Work and Pensions, said:

“David Cameron’s failure to get a grip of the chaos within the Department for Work and Pensions has led to huge distress and hardship for hundreds of thousands of people and threatens to land taxpayers with a huge bill.

“Last week the Government admitted serious failings in its Department for Work and Pensions Annual Report on benefit fraud, Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payments, but ministers refuse to act.

“That’s why Labour has called a debate in parliament to demand Iain Duncan Smith gets a grip of his failing department starting by setting a time limit for making disability benefit assessment decisions. The £12.8 billion Universal Credit has ground to a halt and rising spending on Employment Support Allowance is threatening to breach the government’s welfare cap. Ministers must publish their assessments about risks to the Universal Credit programme and come clean about the impact of rising benefits spending on the welfare cap.”