UNIVERSAL Credit is likely to increase the number of evictions in Swindon and make it harder for benefit claimants to find a home according to a report by the council’s housing department.

As the most significant piece of the Government’s benefit reforms, Universal Credit (UC) has attracted a great deal of scrutiny.

It seeks to simplify the previous system by merging a number of benefits - including Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA), housing benefit and child tax credits - into one monthly payment. Where housing benefit was previously paid direct to the landlord or housing provider, it is now paid to the tennant a month in arrears. The wait for the first payment after being put on universal credit is usually six weeks but sometimes longer.

Swindon Borough Council is the latest organisation to warn that the system of payments in arrears and the expectation that claimants can all budget effectively, is presenting problems when it comes to housing.

A report due to go before a committee of councillors this evening says: “Universal Credit claimants receive all their individual benefit payments as one lump sum and this is paid monthly in arrears. Therefore claimants who have not previously had to budget their expenditure will have to manage their finances to ensure that they can pay their rent.

“It is anticipated that the change from housing benefit to universal credit will increase the rate of rent arrears and therefore the resulting evictions.

“In addition, it is expected that the number of private sector landlords that will accept tenants who are on benefits will reduce, further limiting the availability of suitable housing for those facing homelessness.”

In September, the Adver reported that the number of homeless households had increased by 78 per cent in the past five years, from 202 in 2012 to 361 in 2017. Of those, more than two thirds include either children or pregnant women.

The report identifies the loss of tenancies in the private sector as the single biggest cause of homelessness in Swindon - a factor in 38 per cent of cases last year.

With home ownership levels nationally now at their lowest level since 1985, access to the private rented sector or the social housing list is increasingly important for many people.

Swindon, like many other towns, is experiencing a shortage of affordable and social housing with 2,928 on the housing register waiting and transfer list as of June.

The report to go before councillors tonight suggests that changes to the benefit system are only compounding that problem.