The UK Conservative government has been ridiculed over their handling of universal credit.

Jeane Freeman Scottish Government Social security minister told the SNP conference the Tories “couldn’t run a bath”.

Ms Freeman said the UK government was not keeping pace with Scotland’s new social security system as Scotland was “bottom of their to do list”.

Read more:Universal Credit roll out: Glasgow church leaders warn over benefits hardship

She said the universal credit was meant to be fully implemented last year but is still four yers away from being completed.

Ms Freeman said: “The Tories announced the introduction of Universal Credit in 2010, to be implemented within four years with one million new claimants, with everyone transferred by 2017.

“They’ve pushed that deadline back year after year, until they finally admitted it would take them until 2022.

“Twelve years with all the apparatus of an existing system, a whole department and staff at their disposal. Twelve years.

“Frankly, they couldn’t run a bath.”

Read more:People are being treated like lab rats in failed Universal Credit experiment

Universal credit replaces payments for income support, income based jobseekers allowance or employment support allowance, child tax credit, working tax credit and housing benefit with a single payment.

IT is being rolled out across the UK with existing claimants in Glasgow scheduled to be switched over between September and December this year.

New claimants are put on to universal credit when they apply for one or more of the benefits it replaces.