ALMOST £1 million was paid out in supplementary payments by the Stormont Executive to cover people whose Personal Independence Payment (PIP) was cut or reduced in the last financial year.
PIP was introduced in the north in June 2016 as a replacement for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64, with more than 125,000 people gradually being re-assessed to see if they qualify.
A 'welfare supplementary payment' was brought in by the Executive to protect those who would otherwise have seen their income reduced or stopped through the changes to DLA and other benefits.
A total of 530 people, who lodged a challenge against their PIP assessment, received payments totalling almost £583,000 during the appeal process. £313,000 was paid to 'top up' claimants who received PIP at a lower amount than their previous DLA rate.
A further £102,240 was paid to customers who receive another income-related benefit and who were judged to have either no or less entitlement to disability premiums.
One hundred and fifty people, who act as carers for those with a disability, appealed against a cut to their carer's allowance resulting from an unsuccessful PIP application by the person they look after. They each received an average of £550, totalling almost £82,000.
Last year the charity Advice NI raised concerns after more than a third of the 21,000 applicants assessed up until the end of July 2017 were told they were not entitled to the new benefit.
Northern Ireland has one of the highest rates of DLA claims and the criteria for PIP payments are much more stringent.
Last month The Irish News reported that the Department for Communities (DfC) is advising people on disability benefits who want recordings of meetings to purchase their own equipment.
After a High Court ruling in London in December ruled that changes to PIP were unfair to people with mental health conditions, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Britain subsequently announced it would re-assess every recipient.
The DfC has also announced an independent review of PIP in the north, and earlier this week said that moves to amend legislation following the London hearing "will mirror the approach being taken by the DWP to revisit all PIP cases that may be impacted by this judgment".
The department has previously said that it is expected that all existing DLA claimants will be assessed by spring 2019.
More than 40,000 people in a range of circumstances received a 'welfare supplementary payment' from Stormont during 2016/17, amounting to almost £8.5 million.
The Practice of Rights (PPR) lobby group has called for the introduction of the 'People's Proposal', which would apply human rights criteria before decisions are made.
The group has also urged the Nursing and Midwifery Council and Health Care Professions Council to "issue guidance" on whether healthcare staff working as PIP assessors are acting in compliance with their professional codes.
