The government will press ahead with plans to scrap the benefits system and replace it with a single, monthly payment, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said yesterday.
He said the Universal Credit would cost £2.5 billion and not £3.1bn claimed at the weekend and some recipients would be paid fortnightly.
Mr Duncan Smith is widely believed to have refused to become Justice Secretary during David Cameron’s reshuffle last week, after reports the Treasury wanted to axe the flagship welfare scheme.
But Mr Duncan Smith said: “Universal Credit is on time, on budget, and I particularly want to stay here to see that through.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne tackled the government over apparent differences in the cost of the credits, due to come into effect next year.
Speaking during Commons questions, he said: “It’s quite clear the Treasury thinks there’s a state of chaos around Universal Credit, the Cabinet Office thinks there’s chaos, Number 10 thinks there’s chaos – surely it’s time you told the House what is exactly going on.”
But Mr Duncan Smith insisted that the scheme was on track.
