Universal Credit my not prove value for money, Government spending watchdog warns However Mr Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensioner Secretary, defended the implementation, insisting that it would be "best" for "all government programmes" to be rolled out in a similar way. Universal Credit's net present value now stands at an estimated £14.5 billion - £1.7 billion lower than three years ago, according to the NAO report. It also found there is no plan to move across more than 500,000 claimants onto Universal Credit before the end of 2019 - despite Government assurances the roll-out will be completed by then. The Work and Pensions Department had "continued to struggle to stabilise senior leadership roles and responsibilities," the report found. If the Government used its existing IT systems to roll out Universal Credit nationwide rather than switching to the planned new digital service it would face an estimated £2.8 billion bill to cover staffing costs, according to the report. Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The Department for Work & Pensions has reset Universal Credit on a sounder basis - but at significant cost, by extending the time for implementation and choosing a more expensive approach. It is now vital that the department quickly establish clear goals for delivering the programme, in terms of cost, time and functionality, against which it can be held to account. Ms Hodge, a Labour MP, said: "The Department is throwing good money after bad by introducing a short-term fix with no adequate plan for delivery, insufficient skills and unclear milestones to measure progress against." Mr Duncan Smith said: "We are making sure that people will get the benefits of an improved amount of money; those who are the poorest will get more money and they will [be] encouraged to go into work. Some of the figures we're seeing at the moment ... show that people go into work quicker, they stay in work long and families will benefit enormously.