CLACTON’S Job Centre is set to become one of the first in the country to start taking Universal Credit claims.

It will be one of just 150 in the country to take up the new benefits system from February next year.

Six benefits will be merged into one, in a move which the Government said would simplify the system and make sure people were always better off working than claiming state handouts.

Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud said: “We’ve already seen remarkable successes, with Universal Credit claimants moving into work faster and staying in work longer.

“As part of our longterm economic plan, people in Clacton will have the financial security of knowing that working more pays more money.”

To start with, claims will be open to single jobseekers, and claimants will get their payments paid to them monthly instead of every fortnight.

The Universal Credit programme has come under fire for the length of time it is taking to introduce the new system after suffering early setbacks.

In November, the National Audit Office said it was too early to say whether the programme would deliver value for money.

The timetable for moving all benefit claimants onto Universal Credit has been extended by two years to the end of 2019.