Katie Shaw understands the benefits system from both sides: she is head of welfare policy at Citizens Advice, the charity that advises the public and helps resolve financial, legal and other problems, and she lives on a housing estate in south London. Shaw has seen family members forced on to benefits and knows "how complicated things can get."

In recent weeks some of Shaw's neighbours have come to her with questions about the government's controversial welfare reforms, which began to take effect on 1 April encompassing some of the most far-reaching benefit changes of the past 60 years. "People are concerned as so much is going on," she says.

Shaw has worked for Citizens Advice in various roles within the policy team for around 13 years. About 18 months ago, as changes to the UK's benefits system came in, she was made head of the welfare team.

In the week that the welfare reforms were introduced, the Daily Mail published a story that linked the killing of six children in a house fire with the welfare state – a debate that the chancellor, George Osborne, later waded into.

"What was in the Mail was appalling," Shaw says. "The government could have a much stronger voice – and the previous government too – challenging some of the myths around benefits."

A report by the Commons communities and local government committee warned of the risk of fraud under the new universal credit IT system, which will be fully implemented when this new benefit comes in from October.

Shaw says IT systems around welfare are also of concern. One of her main worries relates to making things "user-friendly", specifically the universal credit pathfinder pilots as you currently cannot save a claim online half way through. "The plan is that you will be able to eventually but at the moment, because of security risks, it is not possible … but I'd rather see things delayed and implemented properly than testing something that's different to how it will be in reality."

Other concerns, Shaw notes, include the bedroom tax, council tax and also the scrapping of the social fund. "There are lots of changes happening [to the benefit system] and pots of crisis money won't be available in the same form. The risk is that people will start relying on charities and food vouchers just to make ends meet."

Excluding support for council tax from universal credit undermines its main objective of making the system simpler to understand and administer, Shaw says.

Universal credit is one area of welfare reform that is structurally sound, says Shaw, but there are some grey areas. "One risk is that the government has always said they are measuring how many people are better off in work – so better off in the new system – but that better-off point will be at the point of transfer which comes when people get the new universal credit system. However, by that time, after so many cuts, it won't be hard to be better off on universal credit."

Shaw is also critical of the delivery of universal credit: "It is paid monthly in one lump sum so the way they are choosing to administer it could mean people have to struggle. We'd advocate the choice to have it paid more frequently, whether weekly or fortnightly."

"If you want a new policy to work you need to make it work straight away and not make it difficult for people to manage it," Shaw adds.

And getting it right matters as there are real risks, "the most obvious one being homelessness". Other possible social impacts include a movement out of London.

The pressure from all these benefit cuts, Shaw says, will fall on local government at a time when they already have to deal with major budget cuts and the government could do more to listen to councils and Citizens Advice.

However, some innovative approaches to implementation are out there. "Some of the projects going on helping people claim housing benefit online and giving them support through local libraries, and doing some personal budgeting stuff are interesting but what they've found is that stuff like this is fairly resource intensive."

Safeguards must be put in place, such as proper advice services that allow people to understand what's going on and "proper resources to implement policies like free school meals." It is still unknown who in the new system will get free school meals.

The problems may not all hit at the same time, says Shaw. "The effect won't be straight away. We won't be able to say, 'wow, this is a massive problem' but this will build up over time and people will be affected at different times ... it won't be overnight."

Katie Shaw is head of welfare policy at Citizens Advice and will be speaking on the main panel at the Guardian's Local Government Leaders Quarterly event at King's Place, London on the 24 April 2013

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