Around 1,000 people may be eligible for a 'special payment' from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after they were advised to claim a different benefit.
The DWP explained to The Mirror that those who are eligible to claim the money were initially told to apply for a different benefit scheme - which saw them receive less money than required.
Around 1,000 people should be eligible to make the claim for the extra money. The newest guidance explains who is eligible, and how they can claim the 'special payment'.
People may be eligible for the special payment if they claimed Income Support due to a health condition or disability - on or after January 31, 2011.
The DWP told claimants at the time they'd get income support, but they should have claimed for Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) instead.
How will I know if I am eligible?
You will be eligible for this extra money if you are still getting Income Support, or if you have changed over to ncome-related ESA or Universal Credit.
If you are still receiving Income Support, eligible claimants have to agree with both of the following:
- 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 are now claiming Universal Credit or income-related ESA, you are eligible if the following applies:
- 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"
How can I make a claim?
You can make a claim by contacting your local Jobcentre, and asking about the "Income Support Claims Review exercise".
After you have done this, someone will tell you if you need to provide any additional information to support your claim.
The DWP will then compare how much you were paid on Income Support, with how much you would have been paid on income-related ESA.
If you would have been paid more on the latter benefit, the DWP will make up the difference.
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, they did confirmed that they expect the overall cost of the payouts "to be low".
The Government arm said that they couldn't provide an average number of how much claimants could expect, as it depends on the individual person.
If you did receive more on Income Support than you would have on income-related ESA, you will not be required to pay the 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."
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