Hounslow Council has welcomed the government's announcement to scrap charges for individuals making calls to the Universal Credit claimants' helpline.

Hounslow has one of the highest number of claimants in England, totalling 12,687 households, but under the new system, current charges of up to 55p per minute for anyone calling the helpline will not exist.

Universal Credit is a monthly payment made by the government to help with living costs and may be available to people who are out of work or individuals on a low income.

Despite welcoming this success, the council remains concerned about the roll-out of Universal Credit and has called for a halt to the system to enable current issues to be fixed.

All councillors present supported a motion to Hounslow Borough Council on September 12 calling for a pause.

The government made the announcement last Wednesday (October 18) as Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke explained the service would be made free.

Hounslow Council was the first borough in the country to experience the full roll-out of Universal Credit Service when it was introduced in 2013, but Councillor Katherine Dunne explained the borough needs time to put measures into place to deal with current issues and delays in the system, which they say is forcing people to turn to foodbanks and charities.

"While the scrapping of helpline charges for Universal Credit claimants is welcome, we remain concerned about the roll-out," said cabinet member for housing at Hounslow Council, Cllr Dunne.

"Hounslow has more claimants than any other borough, with 12,687 households in receipt of Universal Credit," she added.

"This has caused real problems for residents and the council, with 73% of council tenants who receive Universal Credit being in rent arrears.

"People are unable to cope with the long delays that are built into the system and are turning to foodbanks and charities for help.

"We are concerned that the problems will only get worse with the acceleration of the Universal Credit roll-out and urge the government to call a halt.

"Both Labour and Conservative councillors in Hounslow support the call to pause the roll-out."

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