Don’t miss this: PIP system crashes again… twice… but DWP still blames ‘technical glitches’
Worse than Vox Political – but This Blog doesn’t have a giant like Hewlett Packard trying to keep it afloat.
The computer system used for new personal independence payment (PIP) claims has crashed twice in a week, just days after the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) insisted it was “working as it should”.
On both occasions, last Wednesday (11 May) and Monday this week (16 May), the system – designed and maintained by IT giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) – was down for more than 24 hours.
The system has now crashed twice just as DWP has been sending out 16,000 letters telling existing claimants of disability living allowance (DLA) that they need to apply for PIP.
The 11 May crash was apparently due to the CAMlite software used across DWP as part of the move towards universal credit – although DWP’s press office has so far failed to confirm any details about CAMlite – while this week’s malfunction seems to have been caused by problems with the PIP CS software designed specifically to deal with PIP claims.
DWP has been unable so far to say whether HPE is responsible for designing both CAMlite and PIP CS.
Despite the system crashing twice in less than a week, at a crucial moment in the reassessment process, Justin Tomlinson (pictured), the minister for disabled people, has invited ridicule by instructing his spokesman to continue to describe the problems as “technical glitches”.
Source: PIP system crashes again… twice… but DWP still blames ‘technical glitches’
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Hewlett Packard is an appalling outfit. They supply hardware and software to the brutal regime in Tel Aviv to oppress the people of Palestine and now here they are in the UK helping the Cameron clique to oppress British disabled people.
Are there no depths HP will not sink to in the pursuit off profits?
Mike, drop the “Don’t miss this:” It’s tacky and if I see posts beginning with suchlike I tend to ignore them. You don’t need to be attention grabbing, you’re posts are well respected and avidly read without a “Catchphrase”
I added the line because I wasn’t going to add much, if anything, to the original text but still wanted readers to see them.
Time has been short here in Vox Towers, as you can tell by the fact that I haven’t been able to moderate many comments lately – I’ve been involved in hospital visits for Mrs Mike instead.
Learning HP has a hand in facilitating government welfare changes will alter my buying preferences. Not in HP’s favor.
You know, you might argue that what I’m about to mention is totally different to this, and I guess you’d be right, but this article doesn’t half remind me of the Post Office scandal, involving the Horizon software (but run by Fujitsu I believe), where Post Office staff were losing everything and being convicted of fraud.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. To be honest during the 1950s and 1960s “big iron” mainframes typically running COBOL didn’t generally foul up like this disaster. The problem with mainframes during that era was a case of “garbage in, garbage out” – a mistake entering data, but not a crash of the entire operating system.
The vast majority of government computer systems have problems when they are first brought out, eg the Child Support Agency “CS2” system, the HMRC Online Submission systems, the Border Agency fiasco, Passport Office debacle to name just four, why would anybody expect anything else?
PIP has been running for years. Any issues should have been ironed out by now.
Ah, but then we’re discussing the government responsible for Universal Credit, so these issues are unlikely EVER to be resolved, as they might lead to benefit claimants receiving the money due to them.