LABOUR took a swipe today at the government’s “hugely embarrassing” delay in the full roll-out of its punitive universal credit (UC) scheme.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Margaret Greenwood was one of many MPs to criticise the benefits reform system that has pushed households into debt and rent arrears, making millions of families turn to foodbanks.

Full implementation of the system is yet again being delayed to 2024, adding £500 million to its overall cost. It was meant to be fully live by April 2017.

Ms Greenwood suggested the reasons why claimants were “scared,” as officials have suggested, to move on to UC from the previous benefit system included the five-week wait for the first payment and the two-child limit for child benefit. The Child Poverty Action Group charity has said the limit was “designed to increase child poverty.”

Ms Greenwood added: “It is clear the government has been forced to delay UC yet again because people don’t have confidence in the system.”

Labour’s Stephen Timms, the new work and pensions committee chairman, told MPs that claimants were “extremely reluctant to be moved on to UC” because of its “dreadful reputation.”

He added: “For the first five weeks you are on it, the only help you can get is a loan, so claimants are two-and-a-half times more likely to need a foodbank than those on the previous benefits.

“Will ministers look really urgently at drastically cutting that five-week delay?”

Tory MP Peter Aldous also called for scrapping the five-week wait, adding that it is “causing very serious challenges” to his constituents.

SNP work and pensions spokesman Neil Gray said that the government had failed to update MPs on the further delay to the roll-out of the scheme.

He also criticised the government for allowing junior minister Will Quince to respond to his urgent question instead of Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey.

Mr Quince suggested that the government’s flagship welfare reform project needed “further improvements.”

The work and pensions minister said that the first loan payment could be made “on day one” but that the loan would be “repayable over 12 months” – to be extended to 16 months next year.