Chris Bryant MP Labour’s Shadow Welfare Reform Minister said:

“Today Iain Duncan Smith continued to beat about the bush on Universal Credit. The Government’s flagship welfare reform is still in a state of disarray, and no lessons have been learned about the need for openness and accountability to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent effectively.

“It beggars belief that after repeated attempts to avoid the question, the Secretary of State had to be dragged to the floor of the House of Commons with an Urgent Question to confirm that the business case for the implementation of Universal Credit has yet to be signed off.

“Even more serious is the revelation that, after more than four years in development and with more than £600 million of taxpayers’ money spent, the Treasury has yet to be convinced of the value for money and overall economic benefits of David Cameron’s flagship welfare scheme. That’s no surprise, when today the Secretary of State appears to have wiped £3billion off the value of Universal Credit, reducing this from the £38billion cited in the National Audit Office report to £35billion today.”