BOLTON will appear on screens as the subject of a new BBC documentary.

The borough’s Jobcentre will feature in BBC Two’s Universal Credit: Inside The Welfare State, aiming to examine ‘one of the biggest and most controversial changes to Britain’s social welfare system in more than 50 years’.

In the final episode of the three-part series, cameras followed Universal Credit claimants at the Black Horse Street centre, where more than 500 people move onto the benefit every month.

The hour-long programme will focus on young people in the borough, as seven per cent of all 18-25 year olds in the are are unemployed, according to the broadcaster.

The Bolton-based instalment follows the stories of staff and claimants, and their struggles with the new benefit system, says the BBC.

One of the residents is Jenny — a 20-year-old who finds a waitressing job which appeals to her love of people and bubbly personality. However, Jenny quickly realises that the zero-hour contract makes her shift pattern unpredictable. As Universal Credit is paid a month in arrears it can leave her with very little to live off and confused about how much money she will get on a monthly basis.

New claimant Paula has taken advantage of an ‘advance payment’ to see her through the first five-week wait before her first Universal Credit payment. These payments were introduced to reduce the hardship that some claimants experienced during the transition onto the new benefit.

But Paula is not used to receiving this amount of money in one payment, and goes on a spending spree which leaves her struggling to survive on her monthly amount after the advance start being repaid.

Last month, The Bolton News reported the latest figures on the borough's claimants of Universal Credit — the number of people claiming has risen by hundreds since 2018.

A shift towards low wage work and part-time contracts has contributed to a hike in the number of people claiming Universal Credit — leaving people struggling to make ends meet despite being in work.

At just over 76 per cent, the employment rate for the North West is at a high but the number of Universal Credit claimants has risen in Bolton.

The number of people claiming the benefit stood at 8,738 during September to November of 2019. The figure marks an increase of 756 people in comparison with the same period in 2018.

Patrick Holland, controller at BBC Two, said: “It’s a hugely important time to be exploring the complexities of the debate around Universal Credit. Following Inside the Foreign Office, this promises to be another great access series for BBC Two.”

The episode is due to air February 18 at 9pm.

The first two episodes are based in Peckham and Toxteth.