The Rayleigh and Wickford MP recently visited a JobCentre Plus to find out more about Universal Credit ahead of the rollout of the system in the Rayleigh area.

Mark Francois MP was taken on a tour of the centre on Crown Hill, Rayleigh, by manager Lesley Goodwin, who also introduced him to staff, who he spoke to about their role in assisting umeployed people in getting back into work.

He was briefed on the forthcoming roll out of Universal Credit, which will help to combine a number of benefits such as Job Seekers Allowance and Housing Benefit into one combined payment. Staff also took Mark through a training package which is designed to explain how Universal Credit will work.

Mr Francois MP said: "In speaking to the Jobcentre manager, Lesley Goodwin and her staff, I was struck by the fact they believe that will be an improvement on the current system of multiple, different benefits and that this will be much easier to administer both for Jobcentre staff and their clients alike.

"In my experience civil servants are not always enthusiastic about the roll out of new computer systems but in this case it does seem they are willing to get to grips with Universal Credit as soon as possible, as they believe that, once it beds in, it will provide a better service.

"As people often come to my regular constituency surgeries with benefit queries, I am very grateful to Jobcentre Plus staff for helping to bring me up to speed on this new benefit, so I can better deal with constituent queries in the future."