THE next phase of the Universal Credit rollout for 3million people could be scrapped amid concerns of the "catastrophic" effects the new system has on claimants.

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd is to ditch an imminent Commons vote on plans allowing all existing claimants of relevant benefits to be moved on to the new all-in-one payment.

Instead she plans to seek approval to move just 10,000 claimants on to UC to monitor the way the new system works.

Committees in both Houses of Parliament had raised concerns about the plan to move around three million claimants on to UC and the Government faced losing a Commons vote on the "managed migration" programme.

Allies of the Work and Pensions Secretary insisted the decision to overhaul the migration was not due to fear of a Tory revolt but because it was the right way to handle the change.

The change comes after Ms Rudd took over from Esther McVey at the Department for Work and Pensions in November.

A source said Ms Rudd had taken a "no-holds-barred" approach and wanted a "fresh mandate" from Parliament for the rollout of UC once it had been trialled.

The Observer reported Ms Rudd is expected to announce the proposed pilot scheme within days.

Since taking the Work and Pensions brief she has signalled that she wants to make changes to UC and demand more money from the Treasury for the system.

The process of moving all claimants to the new system is due to be completed by the end of 2023.

A Whitehall source said: "Amber has come into the Department and taken a no-holds-barred approach to reform.

"Therefore she wants Universal Credit to receive a fresh Parliamentary mandate and being personally sure the system is working in the interests of every claimant.

"So she will move 10,000 claimants, and carefully monitor this, before returning to Parliament to report on her findings and seek that fresh mandate for the full roll-out."

Frank Field, Labour chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, said: "The Government seems finally to have woken up to the human catastrophe that was waiting to happen under its ill-formed plans for moving people on to Universal Credit."

Paul Farmer, head of the mental health charity Mind, said: "There are hundreds of thousands of people with mental health problems yet to move across to Universal Credit and we have been clear that pushing ahead with these plans would be catastrophic for people who are too unwell to navigate the complex and often bewildering process of making a new claim."

Universal Credit replaces six existing benefits — Employment Support Allowance, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Housing Benefit, Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit — with a single payment.