Full Service Universal Credit begins in Moray on 27 June

FULL Service Universal Credit begins in Moray on 27 June.

Under this scheme Universal Credit, which is a working-age benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions, is open to single people, couples, families, employed, unemployed or those unable to work due to illness or disability.

Universal Credit replaces: income support; jobseekers allowance (income based); employment support allowance (income related); working tax credits; child tax credits and housing benefit.

Residents receiving these benefits will not have to do anything now unless their circumstances change after 27 June and they have to apply for Universal Credit.

Help to claim for Universal Credit is available by appointment at Moray Council libraries in Aberlour, Buckie, Elgin, Forres, Keith and Lossiemouth. Staff are available to help with the claims process and online journal. Other libraries in Burghead, Cullen, Dufftown, Fochabers and Tomintoul have free internet access and residents can make a claim for Universal Credit independently. Help with budgeting and managing Universal Credit payments is available from the council’s income maximisation team.

More about Universal Credit is available on Moray Council’s website: www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_97915.html.

Famous for its colony of dolphins, fabulous beaches and more malt whisky distilleries than any where else in Scotland, Moray is a thriving area and a great place to live. Nestling between Aberdeenshire and the Highlands, Moray stretches from Tomintoul in the south to the shores of the Moray Firth, from Keith in the east to Brodie Castle in the west.