PEOPLE are going 'to die' as a result of the 'disgraceful' changes that have seen Universal Credit (UC) introduced on Merseyside, it’s been claimed.

The striking assessment came as the early impacts of the new service, which has been widely condemned, were discussed at a council meeting this week.

The service aims to help claimants and their families become more independent and simplify the benefits system, by bringing together a range of benefits into a single payment, and Sefton, Wirral and Knowsley have all been moved over already.

The full roll-out of UC is set for locations across Liverpool this month.

A report discussed by Wirral Council’s business overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday unveiled a damning assessment of how the service is already affecting people on Merseyside.

It included claimants waiting months for payments, not being able to access the service whatsoever due to “digital challenges”, and various issues faced by groups like disabled people, the homeless and parents.

On the issue of how people in the borough are dealing with the changeover, Cllr Christine Spriggs told the committee: “It’s a disgrace – a disaster, and people are going to die as a result of this, especially if we have a cold winter.

“We really need to do something about this to make our voices heard that we are not happy about it. We are walking into an absolute disaster. We must make every representation we can to the appropriate channels.”

Her words came as it was revealed that just a quarter of people referred by the Department for Work and Pensions for personal budgeting support in Wirral were actually attending their allocated sessions. The sessions are aimed at helping claimants adapt to the changes brought about by UC.

Cllr Spriggs referred to a case study in the report about a single young mum with a five-month-old baby who was sleeping on her sister’s couch due to a relationship breakdown, while also attending college. In the end, the 18-year-old mum was given the help she needed.

But Cllr Spriggs said: “This young person was given help, but if this is [a typical case], which im sure it is, then I think the answers are here as to why people can’t get to the personal budgeting sessions.

“It’s a disgrace and I think [that’s being realised].”

Presenting the report to the committee on Tuesday was Nicky Dixon, the council’s transactional management business unit manager.

Speaking about the issue that so few referred for personal budgeting support were attending their appointments, she said: “There’s a lot of work going on at the DWP and One Stop Shop management team to try and understand why this is the case.

“We are compliant with the Universal Support program, but is there something wrong in that, and how people are being referred?

“That’s the sort of work that’s going on to find out how we can improve that.”

Cllr Anita Leech added that she had heard of people in her ward in a “dire state” following last November’s full roll-out.

She told the committee: “People are having to choose whether they pay for food or they put the heating on.

“We are coming up to the winter now. It really bothers me that people are in such a dire state through no fault of their own because things are taking so long to deal with.

“I know we have a welfare fund and help from charities, but even charities now are crying out for help from somebody. They are just breaking from all this.

“There is scope for further scrutiny from all around the tables here – people are coming out with clear examples of where the system is failing.”

The report discussed by councillors revealed that people suffer from 'digital exclusion', with the roll-out requiring claimants to be able to log and manage claims online with an account created using an email address.

Committee member Cllr David Elderton told the committee about a case of somebody having already died as a result of being 'intimidated' by the technological process.

He said: “There are a number of people in my extended family where it’s a case of old dogs don’t want to learn new tricks. They don’t want to know anything about applying for services online.

“One person I know went without credit in general and went bankrupt.

“He died because he didn’t want to put himself through the intimidating process of having to apply for what he thought was basic help.

“That’s a dreadful thing to happen and we shouldn’t be allowing it to happen in 2018.”

In repsonse, a spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions told the Globe: "Our Jobcentre staff work extremely hard to provide people with the support they need to find work and claim Universal Credit.

"We investigate all issues raised with us, but the fact is that Universal Credit is working for the majority who claim it, and we’ve already made significant improvements, such as 100% advances to support people before their first payment, removing the seven waiting days, and an extra two weeks' housing support for claimants during the transition.

"The reasons why people use food banks and accumulate rent arrears are complex, so it's wrong to link a rise to any one cause, and we have invested up to £200m in Universal Support so that budgeting advice and digital support can be delivered by local authorities."