One third of claimants still on 'old' benefits

In the Sunderland Central parliamentary constituency, 9,867 households were claiming Universal Credit (UC) in February after being transferred from older benefits, such as Employment Allowance, Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance – with an estimated 5,506 (36%) remaining on the old system, according to figures from the House of Commons library.

In Washington and Sunderland West, 8,793 were claiming UC, with 4,767 (35%) still on the old system.

In Houghton and Sunderland South, 8,343 were claiming UC, with 4,801 (37%) on the old system.

Debt charity StepChange said many claimants are still being pushed into hardship by having to wait more than a month for their first UC payment after migrating from older benefits.

The charity says moving to UC – which rolls six means-tested benefit payments into one monthly deposit – is challenging because new claimants must wait five weeks for their first payment, meaning some people need an advance, while others can be pushed into debt.

Ed McDonagh, StepChange senior public policy advocate, said: "UC can work but it also has features that can cause real hardship and can actually worsen people’s debt."

Nationally, 4.8 million households were claiming UC in February – 66% of those receiving benefits – leaving 34% on legacy benefits despite the rollout starting in 2013 and due to be complete by 2024.

In his spring statement, Mr Sunak announced £12m would be provided to support a smoother transition to UC.