180,000 sick & disabled to share in £1bn after payments blunder
SOME 180,000 sick and disabled people will be paid around £1billion in benefits they were wrongly denied.
The number falling victim to mistakes in their Employment and Support Allowance has soared since errors were identified last year.
Claimants moved on to the disability benefit lost up to £20,000 each over seven years.
Ministers admitted yesterday the number who could be owed cash has now risen from 70,000 to 180,000.
The bill for estimated back payments has risen to £970million and the cost of the bungle will hit £1.67billion by 2025 as a result of ongoing higher payments.
Labour MP Neil Coyle said: “This has revealed even more chaos at the Department of Work and Pensions with thousands more disabled people denied vital help.”
In July, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Esther McVey, facing a legal challenge, caved in to calls to refund people all the way back to 2011. The blunder emerged when officials found some people transferring to ESA from incapacity benefit were put on the wrong system for assessing their new payments.
The bill for back payments also rose due to evidence gathered by a 400-strong DWP team that is still reviewing 570,000 cases.
The new estimates show £810million arrears will be paid to 105,000 between now and April 2019.
Another £160million will then be paid to an estimated 75,000 in the 2019/20 financial year.
Rob Holland, co-chair of the Disability Benefits Consortium, which represents 80 charities and campaign groups, said: “Close to half of those in poverty are disabled or live with a disabled family member.
“In addition to making sure disabled people are paid, the Government must reverse cuts built into Universal Credit.”
The DWP said: “Anyone affected by this error will receive all of the money they are entitled to.”