THE county council will write to the Government to say Universal Credit has been riddled with difficulties and is 'causing unnecessary hardship to local families'.

Most new claimants in Oxfordshire are paid Universal Credit as a result of the controversial policy, which aims to streamline six benefits into one payment.

By the time the rollout is complete in 2022, about 18,000 people in Oxford and Abingdon alone will be affected.

The county council agreed the Government’s aim to ‘make benefits less complicated and to allow those in low paid work to keep more of their wages is a good idea’.

But councillors voted that the rollout has been shown to be ‘flawed’.

The motion, initially proposed by Liberal Democrat councillor Jenny Hannaby and amended by Conservative cabinet member Yvonne Constance, noted that 'the evidence of district councils and others across the country is that Universal Credit is causing huge increases in rent arrears and in general debt levels amongst claimants, many of whom have never been in debt before.’

The council noted that the introduction of the plan, which was formulated by the former Department for Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, had been ‘deliberately introduced on a slow rollout so that any issues could be seen and corrected’.

But all 53 councillors at Oxfordshire County Council on Tuesday agreed that ‘evidence demonstrates that most private landlords and even some housing associations are refusing to accept tenants receiving Universal Credit, leading to an increase in those registering as homeless and seeking temporary accommodation.’

Universal Credit was set up to replace six means-tested benefits – income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, housing benefit, child tax credit and working tax credit.

In response to worries about people facing financial hardship because of Universal Credit, Oxford City Council set up a £50,000 emergency fund for people who could demonstrate desperate need as a result of the benefits change.

So far the council has helped seven families or individuals and given foodbank vouchers to a further 13 as a direct result of Universal Credit.

The initial motion tabled by Mrs Hannaby asked for the rollout of Universal Credit to be stopped so problems could be fixed – but this section was deleted in the amended motion.

Earlier this year, Oxford MPs Anneliese Dodds and Layla Moran, along with Citizens Advice, warned people would be forced into financial problems because they would have to wait up to six weeks for their first Universal Credit payment.

That wait will be sliced to five weeks from February – removing a seven-day waiting period in which nothing happened to claims.

An assessment period takes four weeks and then the payment can take up to seven days to reach a claimant’s bank account.

Most new claimants in Oxfordshire are paid Universal Credit – except residents living in 18 postcodes in South Oxfordshire.

All new claimants will be included in the roll-out by May 2018.