​Shocking lack of care exposed in MPs' report after disabled ESA claimants under paid between £5,000 and £20,000

A “culture of indifference” at the Department for Work and Pensions led to claimants missing out on at least £340m in benefit payments.

MPs in Westminster criticised the DWP for creating problems because it didn’t appear to care enough to get it claimants’ payments right.

A report by the cross party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the department’s "lack of urgency in taking six years to start to address the error indicates its culture of indifference to underpayments."

Around 70,000 claimants didn’t receive the payments they were due between 2011 and 2016, many of whom were underpaid between £5,000 and £20,000.

The report said this was because the DWP didn’t ensure they received the correct amounts when moving them from incapacity benefit on to the employment and support allowance (ESA).

Fixing the error will cost at least £340m in back payments and £14m in admin costs said PAC report. However, the report said that claimants could still miss out on as much as £150m because the DWP is currently refusing to make backpayments dating back to before 2014. This is currently subject to a legal challenge.

"There is clearly much more to be done to right this wrong," the report stated. "We encourage the department to act swiftly, decisively and comprehensively to address the harm caused by this mistake and, more broadly, to give much greater priority to correcting benefit underpayments to vulnerable people.

The DWP’s lack of concern after taking six years to start to address the error was criticised.

Meg Hillier MP, the chair of PAC, said: “Thousands of people have not received money essential for living costs because of government’s blinkered and wholly inept handling of ESA.”

The report stated the DWP was “unconstructive” when it confronted it with the issue back in 2014.

ESA is paid to people with limited ability to work due to disability or illness. Some 2.4 million in the UK receive ESA.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We take the issue of underpayments very seriously and have actively taken steps to put this right as quickly as possible, to ensure people get the support they are entitled to.

“We have recruited 400 extra staff and have already started making payments – over £40m so far. We have continued to provide regular updates to both PAC and the House in regards to the progress of these repayments, and will continue in this stead.”