A significant overhaul of carer’s allowance checks is planned to prevent life-changing debts and fines, following a six-year crisis that has left thousands of carers with massive overpayments.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a significant overhaul of the way carer’s allowance overpayments are checked, in an effort to fix the failing system that has left thousands of carers with life-changing debts, fines, and even criminal records.
The Current Crisis
For six years, the DWP has been receiving alerts about earnings breaches on the carer’s allowance but has chosen to investigate only 50% of them due to cost grounds. This has led to huge numbers of carers unknowingly accruing massive overpayments. In some cases, this has resulted in carers being hit with repayment demands of up to £20,000, causing widespread financial and emotional distress.
Carer's Allowance is a UK government benefit for individuals who care for someone with significant needs.
To qualify, carers must provide at least 35 hours of care per week, be aged 16 or over, and have limited income or savings.
The allowance amount varies depending on the individual's circumstances, but it can range from £64 to £89 per week.
Carers may also be eligible for additional support, such as the Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
A New Approach
The DWP is now hiring extra staff to investigate 100% of the carer’s allowance earnings breach alerts it receives and swiftly notify carers if they are at risk of falling into debt. This new approach aims to prevent carers from unknowingly running up overpayments and to reduce the numbers of carers falling foul of the system.
The Human Cost
Critics have accused the DWP of creating a lottery in which some carers are alerted to earnings breaches after a few weeks while others are allowed to accrue years of overpayments before being asked to repay large sums. Campaigners have warned that tens of thousands more carers will continue to be hit with overpayments, including an estimated 20,000 at risk when the current backlog of paper-based alerts is finally tackled.
A New Settlement
The government has promised a ‘new settlement’ for carers, which includes an independent review of the carer’s allowance that is expected to report in the summer. The review will look at how the overpayment scandal came about and how to fix it. The chief executive of Carers UK, Helen Walker, welcomed the move but warned that until the new policy takes effect, tens of thousands more carers will continue to be hit with overpayments.
A Call for Change
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has called for carer’s allowance overpayments to be written off, saying it was wrong for carers to continue being punished by a system that the government admitted was broken. Campaigners have long argued that the complexity of carer’s allowance rules meant that carers who worked part-time were unaware when they breached weekly earnings limits, often by only a few pounds or pence.
A Way Forward
The DWP has promised to draft in extra staff to investigate all under- and overpayments promptly and correct them. The department will also agree affordable repayment plans and signpost to independent advice services when issuing debt management notifications. While the new policy is a step in the right direction, campaigners are warning that it may take time for the system to be fully fixed, and thousands more carers will continue to be hit with overpayments until then.
- theguardian.com | DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks after overpayment scandal
