Can you get benefits? As 188,000 win back DWP payments after being REJECTED for cash support
THOUSANDS of people could be missing out on vital cash support after being wrongly rejected for benefits.
More than 188,000 benefits claimants successfully appealed a DWP decision between April 2022 and April 2023, The Sun can reveal.
If you apply for benefits, tax credits or child maintenance and are rejected then you can ask the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to look at the decision again.
This process is called mandatory reconsideration.
If successful, it could mean the claimant receives thousands of pounds a year in benefits which they would not have been entitled to had they not appealed.
The staggering figures come from a Freedom of Information request we submitted.
Around 595,000 mandatory reconsideration requests were received by the DWP during this period – which means 32% were successful.
To be eligible for mandatory reconsideration you must have applied for benefits including Attendance Allowance, Universal Credit or the Winter Fuel Payment.
You can ask for the review if you think the office that dealt with your claim made an error or missed important evidence, you disagree with the reason for the decision or you want your case to be looked at again.
The process is free and usually takes between two weeks and several months.
Personal Independence Payment was the most appealed benefit decision in the 2022/23 financial year.
Around 276,790 applicants asked for their case to be reviewed and approximately 23% were successful.
Meanwhile, 269,410 people applied for a mandatory reconsideration after their Universal Credit application was unsuccessful.
Around 104,990 – or 39% – of these applications were approved after their case was reviewed.
But nearly half of Universal Credit appeals received between February and April 2023 were approved.
David Southgate, policy manager at disability equality charity Scope, said these figures show far too many disabled people are getting the wrong decision in their benefit assessments.
He adds: “Every week, we hear from disabled people who tell us that wrong decisions are being made by assessors who don’t understand their conditions or circumstances.
“These wrong decisions come at a hefty cost to the government too, with around half of Universal Credit decisions being overturned.
“The government needs to work with disabled people to fix our broken benefits system. That must include bringing in expert assessors who understand the true impact of someone’s condition.”
Employment and Support Allowance appeals were also very successful.
Only 3,380 people asked for their case to be reviewed in the 2022/23 financial year.
But 39% of these appeals were approved – equal to approximately 3,380 people.
Shockingly, half of all mandatory reconsiderations were granted between February and April 2023.
A DWP spokesperson told The Sun: “We support millions of people every year and our priority is they receive the help they are entitled to.
“Mandatory Reconsideration is a key element of the department’s decision-making process, and offers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to a claim.”
This is not the first time The Sun has shed light on the number of incorrect government benefit decisions.
Last year we revealed that hundreds of thousands of people have won PIP benefit payments after the DWP rejected them.
We have also exposed the number of benefit claims that were wrongly rejected due to flaws in the system.
Meanwhile, we have highlighted how hundreds of thousands of people are £9,000 better off after their rulings on PIP were overturned.
How to appeal a benefit decision
If you are unhappy with a benefit decision you may be able to appeal it.
If you ask for a mandatory reconsideration then someone will look at your whole benefit claim again.
You will get a letter called a ‘mandatory reconsideration notice’ to tell you whether they have changed the decision.
The letter will explain the reason for that decision and the evidence it was based on.
Bear in mind that your benefit may stop, stay the same, increase or decrease as a result of the review.
You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration for benefits including:
- Attendance Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Bereavement Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Sure Start Maternity Grant
- Universal Credit (including advance payments)
- Winter Fuel Payment
- Carer’s Credit
- Child Maintenance (sometimes known as ‘child support’)
- Compensation Recovery Scheme (including NHS recovery claims)
- Diffuse Mesothelioma Payment Scheme
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Maternity Allowance
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Funeral Expenses Payment
- Income Support
- National Insurance credits
Some decisions cannot be reconsidered.
Your original decision letter should let you know if you can appeal.
You usually need to ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month of the date of the decision.
But you may be able to ask for a review after one month has passed if you have a good reason, for example if a loved one has passed away or you have been in hospital.
Call the phone number on your decision letter first.
You can contact the benefits office by phone, letter or by filling in and returning a form asking for a mandatory reconsideration.
If the decision is about Universal Credit then you can get in touch with the DWP through your journal.
When you ask for a mandatory reconsideration you will need to provide the following information:
- The date of the original benefit decision
- Your name and address
- Your date of birth
- Your National Insurance number
- An explanation of what part of the decision is wrong and why
- Provide evidence to support your reasons such as new medical evidence, bank statements or payslips.
You should write your full name, date of birth and National Insurance number at the top of each bit of evidence and send it to the benefit office where you applied for your benefit.
If you think the mandatory reconsideration is wrong then you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal.
A judge will consider both sides of the argument before making a decision.
Typically you need to appeal within one month of the date of your mandatory reconsideration notice.
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