A BENEFITS scheme trialled across Bury has now been rolled out across the country.

The Conservatives introduced the Universal Credit in 2013 in an attempt to shake up the benefits system so nobody would be better off out of work than in.

Bury and Whitefield was among the first places in the UK to undergo the change in July 2014 as the Government identified as a 'pathfinder' area.

It currently only applies to claimants without children.

The Government hopes it will eventually replace Jobseekers' Allowance, Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance, Working Tax Credits, Child Tax Credits and Housing Benefit, for all claimants.

As of Tuesday, Universal Credit was available at all job centres in the UK for all single people.

Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb said Universal Credit is transforming welfare.

He added: "It helps make work pay, with claimants moving into work faster and earning more.

"Over 450,000 people have made a claim to Universal Credit so far, with over 9,500 new claims made every week.

"Universal Credit is revolutionising the welfare state by making work pay.

"It is already transforming lives across the country, with claimants moving into work faster and earning more than under the old system."

Lord David Freud, the Welfare Reform Minister, said: "The driving force of our reforms was to create a welfare system that allows people to break free of dependency and move into work.

"Universal Credit is different to the old system because it stays with a claimant as they move into work, and for the first time ever, low-paid workers are helped to increase their hours and their earnings."

However, Universal Credit has its critics.

Iain Duncan Smith, who introduced it during his time as Work and Pensions Secretary resigned from the position in March after saying he could not support changes to benefits that penalised the poor and vulnerable.

He added: "(The Government's austerity programme) is in danger of drifting in a direction that divides society rather than unites it."

The Resolution Foundation, a leading think tank that previously backed the system, this week said Universal Credit has serious design flats and risks becoming no more than a "very complicated vehicle for cutting the benefits bill."

Mr Crabb said he would consider the organisations report on the subject.