JEREMY CORBYN insisted Theresa May halt the roll-out of the universal credit (UC) benefit reform scheme today.

Eight million people in work are living in poverty and “many on middle incomes are struggling to make ends meet,” he said during Prime Minister’s Questions today.

The Labour leader argued that foodbank network Trussell Trust had found that foodbank use had increased by 52 per cent in areas where UC had been introduced.

This is compared to 13 per cent where UC had not been introduced, according to the charity.

He asked: “Will the Prime Minister at the least today halt the roll-out [of UC] and commit to a thorough review of it?”

Mr Corbyn also said that poverty has risen for people of all ages under her government to at least one million more people – including children, working-age adults and pensioners.

He pointed out that Ms May had entered Number 10 pledging to tackle the “burning injustices facing this country” but that “poverty has risen for all ages under her administration.”

Since 2010 “child poverty has increased by 500,000, working-age poverty by 200,000 and pensioner poverty by 400,000,” Mr Corbyn said.

Ms May claimed that she takes the issue of poverty “very seriously.”

She added that the government has “been making changes” to UC while expanding it across the country.

Mr Corbyn also asked whether the government will take responsibility for guaranteeing free TV licences for people aged over 75, rather than passing on the buck to the BBC.

The Tories had promised to maintain TV licences for over-75s in their manifesto.

Ms May replied: “We expect the BBC to do that and frankly I think the BBC is in a position to be able to do that with the income they receive.”

The BBC will publish its report later this year on a consultation it launched on how licence fees for over-75s should be paid for.

They are currently financed by a government-funded scheme, which is due to end in 2020. The cost of licences for over-75s will total a fifth of the BBC’s current budget by 2021/22.