NEW benefit claimants in

Newton Abbot will now

receive the Universal Credit

payment as the scheme rolls

out across the country.

From Monday, the benefit

will be paid as one payment

replacing several existing benefits

such as Jobseeker’s

Allowance, housing benefit,

income support and other top-up

benefits.

But this only applies to new,

single jobseekers and is expected

to affect an average of 70 people a

month in the district.

Newton Abbot Jobcentre is one

of 22 to be bringing in the new

credit system to simplify the welfare

system and give jobseekers

more incentive to find work.

According to research by the

Department for Work and Pensions,

universal credit claimants

spend more time looking for

work, move into work quicker and

stay in jobs for longer compared

to those on Jobseeker’s

Allowance.

Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare

Reform, said: ‘Universal

Credit is a revolution in welfare, a

system that for the first time supports

people both in and out of

work.

‘Already people across the

country are benefiting from this

greater flexibility.

‘Under Universal Credit we are

helping to create a higher wage,

lower tax and lower welfare society

with people moving into jobs

faster and able to increase their

earnings safe in the knowledge

that they are better off in work.’

The new credit replaces the

existing six benefits with one

monthly payment and will, for the

first time, combine in and out of

work benefits.

An online resource Daily Jobseeker

has been created with tips

and advice on how claimants can

get into work.

The government says that once

fully rolled out, Universal Credit

will make about three million UK

households better off.

The new system shifts the focus

away from the number of hours a

person works to the amount they

earn, removing the need to switch

between benefits when working

more than 16 hours a week.

It is hoped it will reduce fraud

and errors and with access to

HMRC’s real time earnings data,

benefit payments can be calculated

exactly and adjusted automatically

to eliminate overpayments

and ensure people receive the correct

level of support both in and

out of work