More than 4,500 disabled people were wrongly stripped of their benefits despite having a “good reason” for missing assessments, ministers have admitted.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has now acknowledged the blunder – more than one year after a ruling that the disability living allowance (DLA) payments should not have been stopped.

“We expect around 4,600 people to gain as a result of this review exercise,” a statement to MPs says.

The admission was slipped out as MPs left Westminster for their Christmas break, as one of a dozen last-day announcements. The disability equality charity Scope described it as “deplorable”.

The latest mistake comes hard on the heels of the DWP admitting to £970m of underpayments to people switching to new incapacity benefits between 2011 and 2014.

Today, the same statement acknowledged that only 1,000 people had been paid the arrears they are owed – a fraction of the 180,000 due to receive an average of £5,000.

Asked about the latest blunder, a DWP spokesman said the first payments would be made to some of the 4,600 people who have lost out in the New Year. However, many have not yet been identified.

It is understood that the department will argue it has taken 13 months to implement the ruling – made in November 2017 – because it needed time to put processes in place to find out who was affected.

It hit disabled people transferring from DLA to claim the replacement benefit called personal independent payments (PIP), who had their payments stopped entirely.

The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned Show all 16 1 /16 The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "One case where the claimant’s wife went into premature labour and had to go to hospital. This caused the claimant to miss an appointment. No leeway given" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "It’s Christmas Day and you don’t fill in your job search evidence form to show that you’ve looked for all the new jobs that are advertised on Christmas Day. You are sanctioned. Merry Christmas" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "You apply for three jobs one week and three jobs the following Sunday and Monday. Because the job centre week starts on a Tuesday it treats this as applying for six jobs in one week and none the following week. You are sanctioned for 13 weeks for failing to apply for three jobs each week" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "A London man missed his Jobcentre appointments for two weeks because he was in hospital after being hit by a car. He was sanctioned" 2011 Getty Images The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "You’ve been unemployed for seven months and are forced onto a workfare scheme in a shop miles away, but can’t afford to travel. You offer to work in a nearer branch but are refused and get sanctioned for not attending your placement" 2013 Getty Images The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "You are a mum of two, and are five minutes late for your job centre appointment. You show the advisor the clock on your phone, which is running late. You are sanctioned for a month" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "A man with heart problems who was on Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) had a heart attack during a work capability assessment. He was then sanctioned for failing to complete the assessment" Rex The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "A man who had gotten a job that was scheduled to begin in two weeks’ time was sanctioned for not looking for work as he waited for the role to start" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Army veteran Stephen Taylor, 60, whose Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) was stopped after he sold poppies in memory of fallen soldiers" 2014 Getty Images The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "A man had to miss his regular appointment at the job centre to attend his father’s funeral. He was sanctioned even though he told DWP staff in advance" 2014 Getty Images The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Ceri Padley, 26, had her benefits sanctioned after she missed an appointment at the jobcentre - because she was at a job interview" Jason Doiy Photography The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "A man got sanctioned for missing his slot to sign on - as he was attending a work programme interview. He was then sanctioned as he could not afford to travel for his job search" 2012 Getty Images The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Mother-of-three Angie Godwin, 27, said her benefits were sanctioned after she applied for a role job centre staff said was beyond her" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Sofya Harrison was sanctioned for attending a job interview and moving her signing-on to another day" The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Michael, 54, had his benefits sanctioned for four months for failing to undertake a week’s work experience at a charity shop. The charity shop had told him they didn’t want him there" Getty The most ridiculous reasons people had their benefits sanctioned "Terry Eaton, 58, was sanctioned because he didn’t have the bus fare he needed to attend an appointment with the job centre" Getty Images

“Subsequently, DWP decision makers or tribunals have decided the claimant had a ‘good reason’ for not attending or participating,” admitted Sarah Newton, the minister for disabled people.

“The decision states that, in these instances, claimants’ DLA awards should be reinstated, until a final decision on their PIP claim, and back paid, as necessary.

“We accept that the same approach applies where claimants who failed to provide information or evidence were later found to have ‘good reason’ for the failure to comply.”

Minesh Patel, Scope’s policy and campaigns manager, said: “It’s deplorable that more than 4,000 disabled people have had their disability living allowance award terminated unfairly.

“Many disabled people we speak to are unable to attend their PIP assessment and it is desperately unfair that they are denied support on this basis.

“While steps are being taken to rectify these errors, this alone won’t fix the lack of trust in the system. A complete overhaul of the PIP application process is needed.”

It is believed that some of the 4,600 people who wrongly lost payments are likely to have successfully claimed PIP in the meantime – so only lost money for a limited period.

However, the DWP is unable to say how many were put in that position, or whether some have been left without any disability benefits as a result of the mistake.

Both PIP and DLA are designed to help people with the extra costs of disability, or long-term health conditions, and are paid regardless of how much someone earns, or has saved.

A DWP spokesperson said: “We’re committed to ensuring that people get the support they’re entitled to, which is why we’re undertaking these administrative exercises carefully and thoroughly.