A COUNCIL leader has condemned the controversial universal credit benefits scheme as “evil”.

Allerdale’s Alan Smith has blamed its roll-out and cuts in social services for a spike in homelessness amid claims children are the hardest hit.

His comments came after the authority reported a 40 per cent increase in homelessness, with foodbanks also facing record demand.

Mr Smith raised a motion calling the Government to take urgent action to reform the controversial benefit system.

He said: “The people who are hit most are children. When the parents become homeless, the children become homeless. That is the crux of the matter. Universal Credit is evil. It is not right.

“How can you expect a family of four to live on nothing for weeks? If that’s not evil – where children are suffering, old people are suffering - I don’t know what is.

“I want to make sure this council isn’t standing by and letting things just drift into the ether. We are a frontline council. We are a political organisation – and we need to tell the Government.”

Mark Jenkinson, deputy leader of the Allerdale Conservatives, said Mr Smith needed to “suggest a solution to the problem” rather than attacking the Government. A proposed Conservative amendment to remove any reference to Universal Credit and austerity fuelling homelessness was defeated.

Alan Pitcher, Conservative councillor for Wigton, had stressed that it would take time to resolve the issues surrounding the benefit scheme and the Government accepted it has “messed up”.

But the original motion referencing Universal Credit was carried after Barbara Cannon urged councillors of all colours to “find common ground”.

The addition of a council pledge to establish a programme to help bring empty homes back into use was added to Mr Smith’s motion. It had been suggested by Independent group leader Bill Finlay to tackle homelessness.

It said: “For its part and in recognition of the fact that 357 dwellings in the borough have stood empty for two or more years, this council resolves to establish with urgency a programme to approach all owners of these empty properties to encourage them to bring them back into beneficial use, and in cases where owners prefer to sell their properties, to use the council’s own capital resources to acquire and as necessary renovate those dwellings, reserving a sufficient number to accommodate homeless cases, and releasing the remainder back into the general rental and home ownership markets”.