Universal Credit: National Roll-Out Delayed, Claims Labour

The national roll-out of the government's flagship universal credit scheme has been hit by fresh delays, Labour claims.  Six centres will begin taking universal credit claims from October - in addition to four other centres already trialling the new system.  The government had initially planned to make it available to for all new claimants from that date.  But in 2011, then welfare minister Chris Grayling told MPs that, from October 2013, "all new claims for out-of-work support would be treated as claims to universal credit".  The aim was then to get all existing claimants moved across to the new system between April 2014 and October 2017. Read more on the BBC website.