B&NES Council must support calls to halt the roll-out of Universal Credit until problems have been resolved, according to local Labour.

In a motion to Full Council, the Labour Group highlights research undertaken by Citizens Advice which identifies problems claimants have with delays in receiving their first payment, inability to pay for essential items, such as food and utilities, and getting into rent arrears. Cllr Joe Rayment (Labour, Twerton) said: “What the Labour Group would like is for the Government to learn from the experience in B&NES and sort the problems out here before rolling Universal Credit out to other areas of the country.”