Benefits changes put 80 Shropshire Council jobs at risk

Council bosses have admitted dozens of jobs at the authority are threatened by the introduction of Universal Credit in the Welfare Reform Bill. The change will mean that from October benefits are administered nationally.

A report by James Walton, head of financial advice at the council, said: "A key change for the council is the introduction of Universal Credit by the Welfare Reform Bill which fundamentally changes the work of local authorities in relation to benefit administration.

"Universal credit will be administered nationally, putting some 80 council jobs at risk."

Mr Walton said the council was now looking at ways of attracting new jobs into the region.

"The council is currently exploring opportunities to assess the viability of working with a third party supplier to administer support schemes which the government are localising for a wider geographical area to protect and even enhance local employment opportunities."

The report will be presented to councillors on the authority's performance and strategy scrutiny committee on February 25.

The Department for Work and Pensions is due to start a trial run of the Universal Credit system in April in north-west England, with the scheme going nationwide from October.

New claimants will be able to make claims for Universal Credit from October 2013, while claims for existing benefits and credits will be gradually phased out. From April 2014, all new claims will be for Universal Credit.

Existing claimants will be moved on to Universal Credit over the next four years.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has previously described the new system as the 'most radical redesign of the benefits system this country has ever seen'.

"It will replace the current costly, outdated process with a digital system, which will be simpler to use and make work pay for hundreds of thousands of people across the UK," he said.