The chair of the Commons local government select committee has urged ministers to ‘come clean' over the risks involved in the timeframe for council tax benefit (CTB) reforms.

Clive Betts MP has taken action following a leaked letter from IT giant, Capita, sent to the firm's local authority clients, in which private sector experts warned they might not be able to overhaul authorities' CTB software systems in time for the full localisation of the benefit next year. Capita's warning has subsequently been echoed by other IT firms and organisations such as SOCITM, which represents public sector IT managers.