Rollout will begin on 25 November in Rugby and Inverness. Bath and Harrogate in February and Shotton in March 2014. Eligibility the same as in North West Pathfinder http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/policy-news/universal-credit-rollout

Universal Credit went live in Hammersmith on 28 October and will roll out to Rugby and Inverness on 25 November. These areas will take claims from the same claimant groups as the pathfinder areas in the north west.

The Department for Work and Pensions has published statistics relating to new universal credit claimants in the first four pathfinder areas. Key messages from the release via Housemark include:

  • 2,150 people have started on Universal Credit in the four Pathfinder offices
  • nearly 7 out of 10 new claims are for people aged under 25
  • the ratio of male to female starters to Universal Credit is around 2:1
  • by September 2013, nearly 70% of all new benefit claims for the unemployed 16-24 age group were for Universal Credit rather than Jobseekers Allowance.