ANYONE who claims benefits has been urged to check if they have been receiving the correct payments.
The warning comes as a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found that claimants received £4.2billion less than they were entitled to last year.
The underpayments included £870million worth of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) payments and £750million in Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
PIP helps people with long-term health conditions and disabilities and is made up of two parts.
One is a daily living part for those who need help with everyday tasks and another is a mobility part for people who need help with getting around.
DLA is gradually being replaced by PIP so you can’t make a new claim now.
The latest NAO report blames the underpayments on “unfulfilled eligibility and official error” at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
This means people might not be claiming what they could be eligible for, and therefore they might be missing out on payments.
In order to get the correct payments, claimants should always make sure they inform the DWP of any changes in their situation which could change their eligibility for benefits.
The NAO report also looked at the issue of overpayments, which it said can “leave claimants with significant debts which they may find difficult to pay back.”
The report found that in 2023/2024, an estimated 3.7% of benefit expenditure was overpaid – which is an estimated £9.7billion.
Universal Credit (UC) had the highest rate of overpayment, with the DWP paying £6.5billion more than it should have.
In comparison, in the year to April 2023, DWP estimated that £3.3billion of state benefits, including UC, were underpaid.
In this period, the DWP underpaid £200million in Universal Credit due to official errors.
If you claim benefits, there are a few reasons that you could be underpaid or overpaid.
Most benefits, including UC, are calculated based on your specific circumstances, including where you live, how many children you have, and how much you earn.
So if you’ve had a change of circumstances that could lead to you being paid less, but you don’t tell the DWP, then you could be getting more than you’re entitled to.
This is illegal and your welfare payments may be stopped altogether if you’re caught out.
Rule changes are another reason you could be being overpaid and sometimes, the government can make mistakes when dishing out payments.
The DWP urged claimants to report accurate information and said in May: “Reporting accurate information and providing evidence may change the amount of benefit people are eligible for and in some circumstances, they may be eligible for more money.
“However, we cannot calculate the correct amount unless people tell us accurately about their circumstances.
“This means that people are not eligible for increases in the amount of money they receive until we have the correct information.”
The NAO report, which looked at DWP customer service, also found that the government department “has fallen short of the expected standards over recent years, particularly for certain benefits, such as PIP.”
It said DWP is not meeting its standards for customer satisfaction, payment timeliness, and answering calls to its in-house telephone line.
The report added only 52% of PIP claims were processed in line with the 75-day standard in 2023-24.
However, it also mentioned areas of strong performance such as the proportion of State Pension customers satisfied with the service, which is above 85%.
Following the publication of the NAO report, a spokesperson for the DWP said: “We acknowledge the challenges set out in this report and are committed to providing an efficient and compassionate welfare system.
“DWP is undertaking a Service Modernisation Programme which is designed to address these issues and improve customer service.”
Exclusive figures shared with The Sun in April revealed that £23billion worth of means-tested benefits and social tariffs could go unclaimed this financial year.
The £23billion includes more than £8billion Universal Credit, £3.4billion Council Tax Support, nearly £2.3billion Carer’s Allowance, more than £2billion Pension Credit and £1.7billion child benefit.
The total estimate is up by £4billion compared with last year, and is partly down to some benefits being increased in line with inflation.
If it also included unclaimed disability benefits and some other discretionary payments, it could top £30billion, according to Policy in Practice founder Deven Ghelani.
He says: “Behind these huge figures lie individual families struggling to cope.
“This support exists for a reason and if we plug this £23billion gap and lift people out of poverty it will give them healthier lives, better educational attainment and longer life expectancy – and the costs to the NHS and social care would fall.”
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