Welfare ministers have written to councils explaining the role they hope local authorities will play in helping deliver the coalition's flagship Universal Credit programme.

In a letter dated 20 May, Lord Freud, who is minister for welfare reform, claims the Government received invaluable feedback in the form of 149 responses to the Local Support Services Framework from across local government, the housing and voluntary sectors.

The framework, jointly issued in February by the Local Government Association and the Department for Work and Pensions sets out the sort of support which councils might provide or commission for UC claimants, and details how such services might be paid for and managed in partnership with the DWP.

According to Lord Freud, the data will be used to finalise the framework and arrangements for funding before UC is rolled out more widely and inform overarching local partnership agreements that will take effect in the coming months.

‘We remain committed to supporting localism and will highlight examples of inclusive and innovative partnerships in the revised framework document which will be published in October this year,' Lord Freud states.

He acknowledged that many respondents demanded clarity about funding and said work is taking place through the Local Support Services Taskforce to develop a detailed funding instrument.

This would, Freud claimed, tackle key questions such as the minimum offer for locally provided help and how variations in local needs, such as rural communities and areas of higher deprivation, should be addressed.