Earlier this year, a report by the National Audit Office and a Public Accounts Committee report estimated 70,000 disabled people had been underpaid ESA following their migration from incapacity benefit.
This was due to the DWP’s failure to consider if they qualified to be paid top up income-based ESA.
The DWP has begun the process of reviewing around 900,000 ESA cases to identify those that could be affected. It expects to complete its review and pay arrears to all cases back to their date of conversion to ESA by the end of 2019.
Affected claimants could be due around £5,000 in arrears.
However, up to 15,000 disabled people have died before they received their share of a £970 million benefits underpayment blunder.
Sue Bott, Deputy CEO Disability Rights UK, said this issue has been a “disaster for disabled people”.
“Most faced financial difficulties because they were unable to work. Despite that, many still have not received the money they are owed – and some of them have died waiting for the back payment.”