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DWP have been told to release four internal documents about UC
A freedom of information tribunal has told the DWP to release the following internal documents:
- A Project Assessment Review of Universal Credit by the Cabinet Office’s Major Projects Authority. The Review gave a high-level strategic view of the state of UC, its problems, risks and how well or badly it was being managed.
- A Risk Register of Universal Credit. It included a description of the risk, the possible impact should it occur, the probability of its occurring, a risk score, a traffic light [Red/Green Amber] status, a summary of the planned response if a risk materialises, and a summary of the risk mitigation.
- An Issues Register for Universal Credit. It contained a short list of problems, the dates when they were identified, the mitigating steps required and the dates for review and resolution.
- A High Level Milestone Schedule for Universal Credit. It is described in the tribunal’s ruling as a “graphic record of progress, measured in milestones, some completed, some missed and others targeted in the future”.
Should make interesting reading…
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Benefits dept - Hertsmere Borough Council
Total Posts: 472
Joined: 13 December 2010
Politics UK reports that DWP appealing to upper tribunal against decision of information tribunal -
here’s also a link to information tribunal decision being appealed against -
http://www.informationtribunal.gov.uk/DBFiles/Decision/i1240/Slater, John EA.2013.0145 (24.03.14).pdf
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Advice, Archway, Renew Leeds
Total Posts: 38
Joined: 23 January 2014
The above link is broken, this is good place to look for tribunal decision being appealed against :
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/23936189/slater-john-ea20130145-240314
hi -
very sorry about link - i’ve now attached the decision below -
cheers ros
File Attachments
- Slater_Information_Tribunal_24_03_14.pdf (File Size: 100KB - Downloads: 2356)
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Advice, Archway, Renew Leeds
Total Posts: 38
Joined: 23 January 2014
I love the term “creative pessimism” to describe the risk assessment of UC in the DWP’s submission.
It appears that the Major Projects Authority report, that was released last week in the middle of the elections to lessen its impact, does not contain any updates on these risk assessments, having been vetoed by IDS. The project has been “reset”.
(As the IT Crowd would say, “have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?”)
Politics UK reporting that Judge Wikeley has dismissed DWP appeal against information tribunal decision -
being reported that the DWP has made a further application for permission to appeal
I wonder if they have got something to hide?
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1963
Joined: 12 October 2012
And they’re still hiding it…....
An update:
At an FOI tribunal next week at Leicester Magistrates Court (Monday, 22 February 2016) a legal team paid for by taxpayers will do their best to convince a judge that three reports on the Universal Credit IT programme must not be published.
It will be the latest hearing in a succession of DWP legal actions to stop a risk register, issues register and a Major Projects Authority project assessment review being published ....
And more: http://ukcampaign4change.com/2016/03/16/judge-orders-foi-release-of-universal-credit-it-reports/
A judge has ordered the Department for Work and Pensions to release three Universal Credit IT reports that ministers and their officials have spent public money trying to keep out of the public domain.
Judge Chris Ryan and his FOI tribunal panel went further: they concluded that had the reports in question been disclosed at the time they might have corrected misleading government statements about the robust state of the Universal Credit programme.
In their ruling this week the tribunal said that disclosure of the documents,
“might have corrected a false impression, derived from official government statements by revealing the very considerable difficulties that were beginning to develop around the time when the information requests were submitted.”
It might be worth noting that things ended up back at the FtT because despite the initial refusal of permission to appeal by Judge Wikeley, Judge Jacobs granted permission on a renewed application with a hearing and ultimately allowed the DWP appeal. The decision is here - http://www.osscsc.gov.uk/Aspx/view.aspx?id=4663
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Mental health & welfare rights service - Wolverhampton City Council
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Joined: 15 October 2012
Will we finally see these now that IDS has jumped ship I wonder.
They could provide the basis for junking UC or at least rolling it back to 2018 when round 2 of the IT is ready.
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Welfare rights service - Derbyshire County Council
Total Posts: 1963
Joined: 12 October 2012
(IT programme manager and freedom-of-information campaigner John Slater reflects on his four-year battle to force the Department for Work and Pensions to release key documents)
‘We know for a fact that the statements emanating from the DWP and the secretary of state in 2012/13 about Universal Credit did not reflect reality at that time. In fact, they weren’t even close. Had the information been disclosed in 2012 when it was first requested, would anything have turned out differently? I think there is a chance it would.’
What are the odds that DWP publishes the stuff at last, blames old whassisname wot just resigned, and says everything is just tickety-boo now, and that all criticism is ‘out of date’?
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Welfare Rights and Debt Advice - Stockport Council
Total Posts: 1064
Joined: 16 June 2010
Is Universal Credit doomed to fail?
Inc. phone iv with the man making the FOI case
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35995313
Priti Patel confirms that external legal cost of these cases up to March 2016 was ‘around £94,000’ -
The Government remains of a view that this was a case worth pursuing as the principles here are important ones for the proper conduct of public affairs.
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Information and advice resources - Age UK
Total Posts: 3211
Joined: 7 January 2016
ICO again orders publication of UC project progress documents - this time the Integrated Assurance and Approval Plan.