A SIX-WEEK wait for benefit payments has left Isle of Wight families struggling to pay their bills.
Citizens Advice Isle of Wight said six weeks was too long for universal credit claimants to wait for their first payment and has called on the government to take action before the new benefit is rolled out next year.
The charity said many people had already asked for help with universal credit, currently available for straightforward claims only, but expects the numbers struggling to grow rapidly when the benefit is introduced in full.
From next May, anyone who would have previously claimed an employment allowance, tax credits, income support or housing benefit will have to apply for universal credit - a move that will affect 17,500 Island people by 2022.
The six-week wait will cause financial hardship and force people into debt, Citizens Advice has warned.
After surveying 800 people who had sought help, Citizens Advice found more than a third had waited more than the six weeks it should take to receive their first payment, and one-in-ten had waited more than ten weeks.
Three-in-five people said they had to borrow money while they were waiting.
Citizens Advice IW chief executive Paul Savill said: "The principles behind Universal Credit are sound but a mix of flaws in how the benefit was designed and problems with how it is being delivered is leaving many people's finances in tatters.
"If the government doesn't fix these significant problems then many families across the IW may be put at financial risk, which can in turn put huge pressure on other local services, such as health, housing and social care."