Anne McGuire
Main Page: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)Department Debates - View all Anne McGuire's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(11 years ago)
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Mr Speaker
Order. Mr Robertson, your voice is substantially louder than that of your hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies). I do not wish to be unkind, but it is not always quite as mellifluous.
Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)
On 11 September 2012, the Secretary of State said:
“For what it is worth, I take absolute, direct and close interest in every single part of the IT development.”—[Official Report, 11 September 2012; Vol. 550, c. 154.]
He said he held meetings and briefings, and worked on it at weekends from his box. He also said,
“we are testing stuff”—
I think that is a technical term—
“pretty much the whole time.”—[Official Report, 11 September 2012; Vol. 550, c. 157.]
Given that 15 months ago he was taking such a personal interest in that, why is he still in his job and facing this shambles today?
Mr Duncan Smith
Because back in 2011-12, as a result of that work, I decided there were problems in the way the system was being developed, so I intervened and brought in a group of people from outside to look at it. They agreed with me and we have since reset the programme. The truth is that Labour never did any of that when in government, and the right hon. Lady needs to ask herself, why not?