The work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, said he had lost faith in the ability of civil servants to manage the universal credit IT programme. Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA
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Today's top SocietyGuardian stories
• Jeremy Hunt steps in after CPS decides not to prosecute abortion doctors
• Home cooking in decline as low-income households turn to ready meals
• Zoe Williams: The early years educational underclass is a handy moralisers' myth
• Alzheimer's may be linked to better hygiene, say scientists
• Brain-training video games may help reverse cognitive decline in old age
• Bedroom tax investigated by UN housing official
• Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett: Graphic images on fag packets don't deter teen smokers – a tough breed
• Richard Taylor: A broad, cultural education is vital to the health of a democratic society
• Hospital trust that failed to ensure patients' safety is fined £350k
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• Protecting the green belt is a promise that cannot be kept, says Andrew Lainton
• Why charities should be worried about the lobbying bill, by Andy Williamson and Esther Foreman
• People managing long-term conditions are being trained to support others find care services, explains Sinéad Brophy
• Among the repertoire of skills required to lead NHS England, the element of theatre must not be neglected, writes Richard Vize
On my radar ...
• Universal credit. Iain Duncan Smith has blamed civil servants for IT failings in the introduction of the £2.4bn universal credit system, the Guardian writes. A scathing report by the National Audit Office said the welfare changes had been poorly managed and were riddled with major IT problems, threatening to increase its costs by hundreds of millions of pounds.
Kiran Singh, a part-time lecturer and sole parent of a nine-year-old, says she barely scrapes by and is concerned about the impact of the welfare changes. While a Guardian editorial says universal credit is worth fighting for.
Writing for Comment is free, Sue Marsh says whatever the secretary of state meant by his assault on benefits, it's failed – and frightened the most vulnerable in the process. Marsh, who set up the Diary of a Benefit Scrounger blog, writes: "no welfare reform is failing more damagingly or harming more vulnerable people than the national rollout of employment and support allowance (ESA) and the now infamous Atos work capability assessment". She continues:
It now transpires that 60% of claims reassessed as being made by people unable to carry out any kind of work-related activity were based on the evidence of paperwork alone. Even more surprisingly, 48% of those being placed in the work-related activity group – where claimants may be able to carry out some work in the future (with the right support) – are based on paper-only assessments too. Government rhetoric is revealed as just that: rhetoric, designed to frighten and confuse the most vulnerable. Duncan Smith and Cameron could have made this clear from the start, and alleviated many of the concerns over ESA. But they chose not to.
• Ministers have been accused of breaking an agreement with food banks set up to help the unemployed. A spokesman from the Trussell Trust charity, which has set up more than 380 food banks, told the Mirror:
We're delighted that David Cameron understands the importance of enabling job centres to refer people in crisis to food banks. But we are deeply concerned that some people within DWP are doing their best to block the agreement that makes this possible.
• Charities have accused the government of "diluting" its homelessness strategy after axing the role of a key civil servant. Jon Bright, director of homelessness and support at the Communities and Local Government department, is retiring this year and his role is being made redundant to save money, writes Inside Housing.
• The Institute for Government blog takes a look at the appointment of women permanent secretaries to run departments since 1997. It finds that while there are some departments where a woman permanent secretary now represents business as usual, "No woman has yet been in charge of the elite departments at the centre of government: the Treasury, the FCO, and the Cabinet Office."
Other news
• BBC: Laser-guided surgery finds brain cancer's boundary
• Telegraph: Psychiatrists and nurses admit lying to dementia patients
• Public Finance: One in three public servants 'will work after retirement'
• Children & Young People Now: Universal children's centres face extinction, MPs are warned
• Inside Housing: 'Escalating human cost' of welfare reform highlighted in Manchester
•LocalGov.co.uk: Workers see pay packets drop by £30 a week since 2007
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