LOCAL DELIVERY OF UNIVERSAL CREDIT

That this House notes that the Welfare Reform Bill provides for the introduction of a universal credit to replace a range of existing means-tested benefits and tax credits for millions of people of working age, starting from 2013; further notes that 20,000 housing benefit staff currently handle such casework for local residents; shares the Communities and Local Government Select Committee's concerns, outlined inits 5th Report of Session2010-12 Localisation issues in welfare reform, published in October 2011, on the changes to delivery mechanisms particulary for housing costs; believes that it is important that claimants can speak in person to local housing staff to ask questions, resolve issues and assist in complex applications in order to avoid errors and verify all official personal documents face-to-face; and is convinced that local delivery and a continuing local authority role in benefit applications will be critical for the successful delivery of the universal credit.