£5K-A-HEAD SICK BENEFIT BUNGLE
Thousands to get windfall payouts
SICK and disabled Brits are set to receive nearly £1billion after major government benefits blunders.
Tens of thousands of people will get the windfall with some owed up to £20,000 each.
The mistakes were believed to have left 70,000 Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants out of pocket over seven years.
But red-faced ministers admitted the total number of people owed the cash has more than doubled to 180,000 – and the bill has rocketed to £970million.
Rob Holland, co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, said: “It’s welcome [news] that the Government has been able to identify the thousands of sick and disabled people who have missed out.
“Close to half of those living in poverty are disabled or live with a disabled family member and have little in the way of a financial safety net.”
Sick and disabled people lost out on around
£5,000 each over the cock-up between
2011 and 2014.
The blunder emerged when officials found some people transferring to ESA from an older system were put on the
“contributory”, not the “income-based” system.
They had been missing out on payments such as the severe disability premium, worth
£62.45 per week.
The Department for
Work and Pensions (DWP) previously planned to refund people for benefits they were denied after
October 21 2014.
But welfare chief Esther McVey decided to refund people back to
2011 after threats of a legal battle.
The bill has also increased due to more evidence gathered by a DWP probe, which is still reviewing 570,000 cases.
Estimates by the department show it is £810m in arrears and the sum will be paid to 105,000 people between now and April
2019. Another £160m will then be paid to 75,000 Brits in the 2019/20 financial year.
Frank Field MP, who chairs the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, said: “It is welcome news that the Government is finally making progress towards repaying people who have missed out on ESA.
“Its best estimate is that it owes claimants £970m – but the final bill could be even higher.”