Around 1,000 benefit claimants may be eligible for a "special payment" from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The DWP said those who are eligible for the cash were told to claim a different benefit to what they should've claimed - which saw them receive less money.
The DWP told the Mirror that around 1,000 people could be eligible to make a claim.
New published guidance explains who is eligible for this payment and how they can make a claim.
You may be eligible for this special payment if you made a claim for Income Support due to a disability or health condition on or after January 31, 2011.
The DWP told these claimants to get Income Support, however, they should've been told to get Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead.
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.
The DWP will then compare what you were paid on Income Support with what you should have 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 had.
The DWP said it was not possible to estimate an average payment amount people could get as it is entirely based on each claimant's circumstance.
However, the DWP told the Mirror that it expects the overall cost of the payouts "to be low".
The DWP wasn't able to provide an average figure of how much people can expect to receive, saying that it depends on each individual claimant.
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.
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.”
