After months of campaigning on the Carer’s Allowance overpayments scandal, we are pleased to welcome the announcement by Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall MP, that the Government has commissioned an independent review into:
· how and why these overpayments accrued on such a large scale,
· operational changes to minimise future overpayment risk and
· how the DWP can best support those with overpayments.
The number of unpaid carers affected by overpayments has grown from 80,000 in 2019, to nearly 135,000 in 2024 and the DWP are currently seeking to recover £251m in overpayments.
In July, Carers UK worked with unpaid carers to present a dossier showing the widespread evidence of the shocking impact of Carer’s Allowance overpayments. They published a report detailing the experiences of 138 carers who had had an overpayment, and we took a group of carers to meet the Minister for Social Security and Disability, Sir Stephen Timms MP, so he could hear about the enormous strain these overpayments have had on carers.
Carers UK are also pleased by the wide-ranging opposition day debate held by the Liberal Democrats in Parliament on Wednesday. MPs from all parties contributed, highlighting carers’ stories of overpayments and their experiences of financial difficulties, struggles with health and wellbeing, and difficulty accessing social care. You can watch the full debate or read the transcript here.
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1.2 million unpaid carers across the UK are living in poverty.
A Carers UK report shows that poverty levels amongst unpaid carers are shockingly high, with 1 in 10 in deep poverty.
