A COUNCILLOR has called for the government to delay the introduction of Universal Credit in the Amman Valley, saying families could be up to £2,000 worse off ahead of Christmas.

It has been announced that Universal Credit will be brought in in Carmarthenshire on December 12, after being introduced in other parts of the country in the summer.

Universal Credit is a new benefit aiming to support people who are working and on a low income or those who are out of work.

Carmarthenshire County Councillor Kevin Madge has called for the introduction of Universal Credit in Carmarthenshire to be delayed until the new year.

He said: “They could not have chosen a worse time to introduce this scheme.

“A huge amount of people in our area could go five weeks without any money over Christmas. I am picking up on a lot of people in Garnant who are worried about this.

“It is not fair to cut people’s money back on the brink of Christmas.

“I will be calling on the government to push this back until the new year. It still won’t be ideal then by any means, but it will be better than doing it over Christmas, the most expensive time of year for families.

“The average family in this valley could be £2,000 worse off.

“It has already been delayed from the summer, you would have thought they could have pushed it back one more month. But it sows how uncompassionate this government are.”