JOB centres in Aberystwyth and Cardigan have become the latest across the UK to replace several benefits with a single universal credit.

On Monday, 9 November, the staggered roll-out of universal credit reached Aberystwyth and Cardigan job centres, more than two years after it was launched in October 2013, with 125,000 people now receiving it and three quarters of the UK’s job centres expected to be using it by Christmas.

Set to replace six key benefits including Jobseekers’ Allowance, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Working Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit, the Department for Work and Pensions says the “revolutionary” benefit will boost national employment by 300,000, reduce fraud, and give people an incentive to get into work.

Shân Gwyn, manager of Aberystwyth and Cardigan job centres said that universal credit would “make work pay”.

She said: “Universal credit in Ceredigion is primarily rolling out to single non-householders initially and then continuing to roll out to all our customers soon after."See this week’s south editions for the full story or read the digital edition by clicking the tab at the top of the page