HUNDREDS of workers in Bradford are claiming Universal Credit as their low wages are not enough to live on.

Charities say that the “shocking” number of in-work applicants is due to low wages and housing costs.

According to Department for Work and Pensions figures, there were 1,313 employed claimants in Bradford on Universal Credit in July 2018.

That is 32 per cent of the total, one of the lowest percentages of in-work claimants in Britain.

Overall, there were 4,142 people on Universal Credit in Bradford, 727 more than in the previous month.

Universal Credit is a new benefit, slowly being rolled out by the Government, which replaces six legacy benefits and merges them into one payment.

It includes income support, jobseeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance, housing benefit, child tax credits, and working tax credits.

The idea of Universal Credit was to simplify the benefits system, however problems with its introduction have reportedly forced benefit claimants into hardship.

The plan was to roll it out by 2017, but a series of management failures meant the Government has put off the completion until 2023.

Pritie Billimoria, from Turn2us, a charity which helps people who are struggling financially, said it was “shocking” that such a high number of workers earn so little that they are forced to rely on benefits.

“Work needs to be a route out of poverty so people are not left dealing with the intolerable stress and anxiety that their wages don’t cover their basic costs of living.”

Katie Schmuecker, head of policy for the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation, a charity which has carried out research project in Bradford, said: “Low pay and high costs for housing and other essentials mean that for many, work is not providing enough to live on and the social security system needs to provide an anchor against being swept into poverty.”