HUNDREDS in Westmorland and Furness have been stripped of their benefits during the ongoing switch to Universal Credit, new figures show.

Universal Credit was introduced in 2013 to replace several existing benefits, in a bid to simplify the benefit system.

People receiving Jobseekers’ Allowance, Child Tax Credit and Housing Benefit among others are gradually being transferred onto Universal Credit, with the Department for Work and Pension resuming the issuing of migration notices in July 2022 following the coronavirus pandemic.

But payments to many receiving these older benefits were stopped completely, rather than moving to the new system.

DWP figures show around 2,950 migration notices had been submitted to legacy benefit and tax credit claimants in Westmorland and Furness between July 2022 and March.

Of these notices, approximately 1,200 (41%) cases were closed, resulting in someone losing their benefits.

In Westmorland and Furness, around 4% of people sent a migration notice are yet to transfer to Universal Credit.

Those who did not voluntarily transfer to Universal Credit and receive less than their previous benefit support are provided with financial protection.

Some 166,860 households across Great Britain received transactional protection during the same period, a top-up designed to aid people's migration to a lower income – including around 770 in Westmorland and Furness.