Benefit claimants could be entitled to a "special payment" from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after a mix-up. The DWP said those who are eligible were told to claim a different benefit to what they should have claimed, leaving them with less money.
The Mirror reports that around 1,000 people will be able to make the claim. The publication says some people with a disability or health condition were told to claim Income Support when they should have been told to get Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead.
People who claimed Income Support for a disability or health condition on or after January 2011 may be eligible for this "special payment". You can claim the money if you are still receiving Income Support, or if you have moved onto income-related ESA or Universal Credit.
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People still receiving Income Support will be able to claim this 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.
For those who 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 applies, you can make a claim by contacting your local Jobcentre by asking about the "Income Support Claims Review exercise". You will then be told if you need any documents to support your application.
The DWP will compare how much you were given on Income Support to what you should have been paid on income-related ESA. If you would have been paid more on ESA, you will be paid the difference.
Because the payment is based on each claimant's circumstance, the DWP says it cannot estimate how much an average claim would be. However, the DWP told the Mirror that it expects the overall cost of the payouts "to be low".
If you got more money on Income Support than you would have on ESA, you will not have to pay back the difference. 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.
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.”
