OXFORD City Council has given help on 74 occasions to residents in need because of Government benefit changes.

Some Oxford residents signing up for benefits were enrolled on Universal Credit from last October – but the National Audit Office said in a report released today it had not provided value for money and caused hardship for many people.

The city council set aside £50,000 to help out residents – but its leader Susan Brown admitted it had ‘simply plucked a figure out of the air’ because it was unsure of what the change’s impact would be.

The council said yesterday it had given out 49 foodbank vouchers to people in need as a result of Universal Credit.

It had given £1,145 in other awards but they rarely involved cash other than in exceptional circumstances. Typically the money was used to buy supermarket vouchers which were then handed out to people in need.

Universal Credit replaces housing benefit, child tax credit, income support, working tax credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and income-related employment and support allowance – creating one payment.

The NAO said groups across the country had shown ‘that many [claimants] suffered difficulties and hardship during the rollout of the full service’ because of the design of Universal Credit.