The Scottish Government is under fire after IT costs for its new benefits system soared to more than a quarter of a billion pounds.
Figures reveal a £39m rise with no end date for the programme - sparking fury among opposition politicians.
Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy said: “The SNP ’s lack of planning has led to costs soaring.
“The SNP need to get a grip of this - people can’t keep paying for their failure. We need an IT system that is person-centred and fit for the future.
“What we’ve got instead from the SNP is spiralling costs and a job half done.”
A cross-party agreement was struck after the independence referendum to devolve parts of social security, including lifeline payments for disabled people, carers, parents and the elderly.
A phased approach was also agreed where the Scottish Government pays Whitehall to temporarily deliver some benefits that are Holyrood’s responsibility.
The hugely complex project involves setting up IT systems to enable new claims and the transfer of existing cases.
A letter from the Scottish Government to Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee has now revealed an alarming rise.
An earlier estimate of the IT programme was £212m, but the update says the figure has climbed to £251m. The “project end date” is given as “tbc”.
All investment for developing the new social security system is funded from within the Government’s Housing, Social Justice and Local Government portfolio.
A new agency, Social Security Scotland, was set up to administer the devolved benefits.
The row comes after the Record revealed the Government is facing a financial black hole of up to £2.1bn this year.
Civil servants suggested savings could be found by scrapping a planned rise to the Government’s flagship £20 a week Scottish Child Payment benefit - an idea shot down by Ministers.
All Scottish Government portfolios apart from Health were asked to model 2 per cent cuts.
Critics believe the Government has mishandled the new benefits IT system.
Duncan-Glancy said: “The new IT system should have been able to help deliver the radically different social security system we were promised – and for this price, it really should have - but that’s not what we’ve got. The people of Scotland deserve better.”
Lib Dem social security spokesperson Caron Lindsay said: “Given how poorly the SNP have handled previous projects, this does not inspire confidence. The Government must explain why there has been such a steep rise.
“The devolution of social security powers is a great opportunity for Scotland to craft a more humane system but that will never get off the ground if the IT system underpinning it is an expensive disaster.”
Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: “SNP ministers constantly talk up their welfare policies, but the costs of the IT system to deliver them cannot spiral out of control.
“We have seen previous examples of major IT management failures during the SNP’s time in office which resulted in payments not being received by those who urgently needed them.
“The SNP need to reassure those receiving many of the new benefits they have created that the infrastructure they have in place is robust and will deliver a fair deal to taxpayers.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The most recently published development costs reflect costs associated with delivery of social security payments, including the creation of our “game-changing” anti-poverty intervention the Scottish Child Payment, as well as additional essential support provided to people during the pandemic.
“Our pace of delivery is remarkable given the scale and complexity of what we are doing and against the backdrop of challenges during the pandemic. Our top priority is the safe and secure delivery of all benefits and case transfer to Social Security Scotland.”
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