THE rollout of a new benefits system appears to have gone “relatively smoothly” while some people have been hit by the changes, town agencies have said.

Universal Credit (UC) began phasing in during July in Andover, replacing six benefits with one monthly payment for new claimants or those with a change of circumstances.

Test Valley Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) has said it has seen a “slight increase” in the number of clients it has helped across the borough since April 2018.

It has given advice to 231 clients with 255 issues relating to UC, including guidance about being eligible to claim.

Romsey’s rollout was introduced last summer, while full UC for all benefits claimants in the borough is due for 2021.

Ange Moon, chief officer at Test Valley CAB, said: “I think the rollout has been relatively smooth and gradual with numbers.

“From April 2019 we will be setting up a new Universal Support team to help new claimants go through the process to get Universal Credit paid. There is a lot of support already being given we will look to work in partnership the Department of Work and Pensions and the local authority to ensure we can give the best service possible.

“We still have concerns over access for some clients but the funding we have for our project starting in April will be able to help provide resources and assistance to those clients.”

The six benefits replaced with Universal Credit are Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income support, Working and Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit.

Following criticism of the scheme rolled out in other areas, the Department of Work and Pensions said a number of improvements had been made to the service to make it easier for people to transition to Universal Credit, including 100 per cent advances for first payments and the removal of a seven-day waiting period for new claimants.

Andover Foodbank believes through initial data collected by the charity it has seen some impact from UC, particularly anecdotally as people claiming food boxes have told them they have been hit.

Andover Foodbank secretary Annie Mihell said: “We have not yet received back all the vouchers for November which will detail the cause of crisis but we think we are just starting to see some impact from UC.

“We can say anecdotally we have had people coming in verbally saying they are seeking support because of issues with getting UC payments or difficulties arising from the changes.”

In other findings, which the charity believes is from a number of factors, the demand for Christmas gift boxes is up around 25 per cent from last year.

A total 820 boxes for children have been distributed, surpassing last year’s total of 670.

Andover Jobcentre was contacted for comment.