The government has released some details about 73 new areas(Local Authority areas) that will start to take new claims for Universal Credit. Due to start in February 2015, and take around three months to phase in, Universal Credit will start to be taken in 'tranche 1' areas- Ashford, Barnsley, Basildon, Bassetlaw, Bedford, Birmingham, Boston, Brecklands, Brentwood, Calderdale, Chesterfield, City of Edinburgh, Colchester, Corby, Craven, Darlington, Daventry, Dudley, Dumfries & Galloway, Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Staffordshire, Erewash, Forrest Heath, Hambleton, Harborough, Hartlepool, Hasting & Rother, Hereford, Hinckley & Bosworth, Litchfield, London Borough of Barnet, London Borough of Brent, London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London Borough of Wandsworth, Maidstone, Melton, Mendip, Mid Lothian, Neath Port Talbot, Newcastle, Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, North Somerset, Oxford City, Redditch, Ryedale, Scottish Borders, Sedgemoor, Shropshire, South Kelveston, South Oxfordshire, South Somerset, Southampton, Southend, Stratford, Suffolk Coastal, Swale, Swindon, Tamworth, Taunton Dean, Tendering, Thurrock, Torfaen, Vale of White Horse, Waveney, West Oxfordshire, West Somerset, Wiltshire, Wrexham and York.
Claims for families with children in the Wirral have also started to be taken from November2014. Click here for our updated Universal Credit 2015 course.