A mum-of-two who was diagnosed with cancer has said her situation was made worse by Universal Credit, which left her fearing she wouldn't be able to feed her children.
Danielle was forced to give up her freelance career after getting the news of her condition, and had to turn to family members after realising benefit delays meant she'd no longer be able to cover essential bills.
She applied for Universal Credit - but was told she'd have to wait five weeks for her first payment, despite the news from the doctors.
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through chemotherapy," Danielle, who is now in remission, explained.
"Universal Credit during this time added so much stress that I did not need. My payments were delayed when I went from being self-employed to being off due to needing chemotherapy."
Thankfully for Danielle, she was able to turn to family members to help cover her food and rent payments - but that's not possible for thousands of other parents.
"I had family who were able to help me to make sure my rent was paid. I repaid them when I received my Universal Credit payments, but the stress of thinking I might not be there for my children and how I would pay my bills was at times unbearable," she said.
In the UK, almost half of families affected by the benefits freeze have struggled to afford rent, bills and food - while 40% have lost sleep due to money worries in the past 12 months, new figures show.
The findings are worse for Universal Credit claimants, with over half having gone without essentials such as food, and 51% saying they have lost sleep because of their finances.
On average, one in four of those who claim state support have less than £100 left at the end of each month, after paying unavoidable bills such as rent, mortgage, food, council tax and electricity.
The report by charity Citizens Advice said disabled people and parents are statistically more likely to go without essentials such as food and toiletries.
Since April 2016, the level of most benefits has been frozen - including Universal Credit and Tax Credits.
Citizens Advice is now calling on the Government to end the freeze on benefit rates and reduce the five-week wait for Universal Credit claims.
It said the Government should reduce the first non-repayable payment to no later than two weeks into a Universal Credit claim.
Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: "The benefits system is designed to help people with their finances in times of need, but too often our frontline staff and volunteers see a different story.
"We’ve found people are losing sleep and unable to afford essential things like food and housing while receiving Universal Credit. It is totally unacceptable that our benefits system is not providing the financial safety net that people need.
"The Government needs to take urgent action in this week’s spending review by reducing the five-week wait for Universal Credit and ending the freeze on benefit rates."
Have you been left trapped or under pressure by Universal Credit? Get in touch: emma.munbodh@mirror.co.uk
