SDLP Derry Cllr Brian Tierney has said that the Department for Communities must urgently address any underpayments to ESA claimants following a damning report from the Audit Office.
Cllr Tierney is working with SDLP Deputy Leader Nichola Mallon MLA who has asked for a breakdown of the number of people in Northern Ireland affected by underpayments and details of how and when the department will repay those who have lost out.
He said: “The findings of the Audit Office investigation into Employment and Support Allowance underpayments is a damning indictment of the government. It has estimated that 70,000 people were underpaid this crucial support allowance over the last seven years.
“The report determines that the average underpayment was £5000 and that approximately 20,000 people were left over £11,000 short over the seven years. That is incredible. How many people have been forced further into poverty as a result of this error? How much damage has been done to the health of claimants as a result of the intense pressure of struggling to make ends meet?
“I’m working with our Deputy Leader and Social Justice Spokesperson Nichola Mallon and we’ve written to the Department for Communities Permanent Secretary today asking for a full evaluation of the scale of these errors in Northern Ireland and a timescale for repayment.
“The lives of vulnerable claimants are tough enough without being denied this support they need to get by.
“This Tory welfare system has been bedecked with failure after failure, with the Government having to be dragged to correct its errors as a result of High Court Rulings and damning independent. This is further proof if needed, that the system is fundamentally flawed and needs completely overhauled.
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