Philip Hammond has announced a dramatic U-turn on the beleaguered Universal Credit reform, pledging an extra £1.5bn to address “genuine concerns”.

The Chancellor told the Commons during his Budget 2017 speech that after pressure on both sides of the House, the current six-week wait for new claimants will be reduced to five weeks.

In addition, Hammond said that advanced loans will be available much sooner and be repaid over 12 months, not the current six.

And new claimants in receipt of Housing Benefit will continue to receive that money for an extra two weeks after moving onto Universal Credit.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the reduction from six weeks to five weeks, suggesting it did not go far enough.

“I say to the Chancellor again, put this system on hold so it can be fixed and keep one million of our children out of poverty,” Corbyn added.

Chief Executive of Citizens Advice Gillian Guy said the changes were “a very welcome step towards fixing the problems with Universal Credit”.

She added: “These changes should make a significant difference to the millions of people who will be claiming Universal Credit by the time it’s fully implemented. We’ll continue to keep a close eye on the roll-out of Universal Credit and make sure they do.

“The next step will be to make changes to work incentives, so that no one is left worse off under Universal Credit than they would be under previous benefits.”

[Do you or someone you know receive Universal Credit? Would these changes have helped you? What do you make of today’s Budget announcement? Contact our reporter on George.Bowden@huffpost.com]