13 October 2023 , 12:26
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A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administrative error from 2011 could see some benefit claimants eligible for a "special payout".
The DWP has identified a group of people who were told to make a claim for Income Support on or after January 2011 due to a disability or health condition. However, this group of people were advised wrong and instead, they should have been told to make a claim for Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead.
As they were told to claim Income Support, this group of people received less money then they would have received claiming ESA. Around 1,000 have been identified by the DWP as being eligible for a payout.
The DWP cannot confirm what the average payout could be as it is entirely based on each claimant's circumstance. Although the DWP expects the overall cost of the payouts "to be low".
The DWP has published guidance which explains who is eligible for this payment and how they can make a claim. You can find this here.
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According to the guidance, you will be eligible for the money if you are still getting Income Support, or if you have moved onto income-related ESA or Universal Credit
If you are still receiving Income Support, you will be entitled to a payment if both of the following apply:
- You made a claim for Income Support on or after January 31, 2011 because of a disability or health condition
- You were not getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) when you made the Income Support claim
If you have moved onto income-related ESA or Universal Credit, you will be eligible if the following apply:
- You made a claim for Income Support on or after January 31, 2011 because of a disability or health condition
- You were not getting Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance when you made that Income Support claim
- You had a Work Capability Assessment when you moved from Income Support to income-related ESA or Universal Credit and you were found to have "limited capability for work" or "limited capability for work and work related activity"
If this is you, you can make a claim by contacting your local Jobcentre by asking about the "Income Support Claims Review exercise".
After this, you will be told if you need to provide any information to support your application. To figure out how much your payout will be, the DWP will compare what you were paid on Income Support to what you would've been paid on Income-related ESA.
If you would have been paid more on income-related ESA, you will be paid the money you should have been paid. If you got more Income Support than you would have got on income-related ESA, then you will not have to pay the extra money back.
The scheme will be offered "as long as there are applications" and if the DWP has not received applications for six months, it will review it. The DWP published its original guidance in June 2023 which means the six-month window will closed and reviewed in December.
A DWP spokesperson told the Mirror: “We have identified an administrative error affecting a small number of Income Support claimants and encourage anyone who thinks they may have been affected to check if they’re eligible for a special payment.”