The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has set a deadline to complete compensation payments to approximately 13,000 disabled benefit claimants who are still awaiting money owed to them.
These individuals lost their Severe Disability Premium when they were moved from legacy benefits to Universal Credit, leaving them financially worse off.
The outstanding cases represent the most complex situations from a larger group of 57,000 affected claimants who are entitled to compensation following High Court rulings that found the Government had failed to protect their incomes during the benefit transition.
Most of the affected claimants have already received their compensation from a fund totalling £452million but the deadline for this to be completed is earmarked for the September, according to the DWP.
GETTY | The DWP has confirmed when everyone eligible for a compensation payment will get paid
The payments follow High Court rulings that determined the government had not adequately protected claimants' incomes when they were transferred to the new benefit system.
The remaining 13,000 cases awaiting payment are described as complex situations that require additional time to resolve before the September deadline.
Individual compensation payments could exceed £5,000, according to law firm Leigh Day which brought the case to the High Court.
This sum is reflective of the financial impact experienced by disabled claimants who lost their Severe Disability Premium during the transition to Universal Credit.
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Analysts noted that legacy benefits to Universal Credit has been particularly challenging for disabled people who previously received the Severe Disability Premium.
This particular benefit top-up provided additional financial support for those with substantial care needs.
A DWP spokesperson said: "We are fully committed to identifying claimants that are owed arrears and providing the financial support to which they are entitled as quickly as possible, with the majority of these cases having already been resolved.
"We are clear that errors like this one should not happen and have already taken action to avoid future errors."
Who is eligible?
In order to claim a compensation payment from the DWP, claimants need to have met the following criteria before moving to Universal Credit:
- Be eligible for an income-based legacy benefit that included an Enhanced Disability Premium
- Be eligible for an income-based legacy benefit that included the Disability Premium
- Be eligible for an income-based legacy benefit that included the Disabled Child Premium, or Child Tax Credit which included the Disabled Child Element (non-severely disabled category).
PA | Claimants of legacy benefits were moved onto Universal Credit
Payment rates
As it stands, there are five possible payment rates for compensation, which will be made for each month between the claimant’s transition to Universal Credit and when new income protection regulations came into force in February 2024.
These are calculated by giving claimants what they would have been entitled to had the new rules been in place when they transitioned.
Said payment rates include:
- Enhanced Disability Premium, single person – £84
- Enhanced Disability Premium, couple claim – £120
- Disability Premium, single person – £172
- Disability Premium, couple claim – £246
- Disabled child – £177 per eligible child.