DWP told to 'write-off' benefit debt for thousands after repayment scandal

The leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey has called on the UK Government to "write-off existing overpayments" owed by individuals receiving Carer's Allowance. This follows the announcement of a new, independent review into the matter by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Liz Kendall, the Secretary for Work and Pensions, recognised the issue of demands for repayment issued under the Conservative government, which has pushed many family carers "pushed to breaking point looking after the people they love". She pledged to learn from past mistakes to "put this right".

In his appeal, Sir Davey, who has experience as a carer himself, underscored the "remarkable contributions that the UK's 5.7million unpaid carers make". He advocated for an increase in the weekly earnings threshold of £151, the implementation of a "taper to end the unfair cliff edge", and a reassessment of the support available to those balancing work and care.

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The problem of individuals being penalised for exceeding their earnings limit for Carer's Allowance, sometimes by mere pennies per week, has previously been labelled a "scandal", reports the Daily Record.

Historic overpayments have resulted in numerous carers unknowingly accumulating unmanageable debt levels, with some even leaving their jobs as a consequence. Currently, people requiring

Carers UK has said that some individuals have found themselves owing "hundreds, thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds" to the DWP. This is due to them not realising they had exceeded the earnings limit and subsequently failing to inform the department.

The review, announced by the UK Government on Wednesday, will be spearheaded by Liz Sayce, the former chief executive of Disability Rights UK. It will scrutinise the origins of such debts, explore potential operational changes to reduce future overpayment risks, and examine supportive measures for those with overpayments.

However, the Liberal Democrat leader has called for most overpayment cases to be "written off immediately".

Addressing the Commons, he stated: "I'd like to ask the minister if she can reshape the review she's announced, because it does seem to me self-evident that the vast majority of overpayments of carer's allowance should be written off immediately."

He recognised the possibility of genuine fraud but argued that the DWP "shouldn't be persecuting tens of thousands of carers whose overpayments were caused by the crazy cliff edge in the current carer's allowance system, and the DWP's own incompetence in failing to notify them of overpayment immediately".

Carer organisations have welcomed the review but are united in their call for debt cancellation and broader reforms to the "archaic and unfair" carer's allowance system.

Kirsty McHugh, Carers Trust chief executive, commented: "Too many people have had their lives ruined by being pursued for huge sums of money simply because they made an honest mistake. These fines need to be written off and the systems allowing them to build up must be overhauled.

"The Government should also take this opportunity to review and reform the archaic and unfair carer's allowance system as a whole. Created in the 1970s, it's just not fit for purpose today."

She slammed the current carer's allowance of £81.90 a week as "insultingly low" and highlighted how its stringent eligibility criteria stop individuals from "balancing caring with work".

Carers UK has called for an urgent overhaul of the present "cliff edge" in support.

Helen Walker, the chief executive of Carers UK, said: "As well as raising the earnings limit to 21 hours at National Living Wage and removing the 'cliff edge' in the earnings limit, we need to also see wider reform and a review of carer's allowance, to ensure it better supports unpaid carers."

Ms Sayce expressed her resolve to "get to the bottom of how overpayments have occurred and how to prevent people who devote such time and care to others facing these difficulties in future".

In the Commons, Employment minister Alison McGovern criticised the previous system, saying the Labour Government had "inherited a system where busy carers already struggling under a huge weight of responsibility have been left having to repay large sums of overpaid carer's allowance sometimes worth thousands of pounds, so what is supposed to be a safety net designed to catch those in need has instead felt like it is designed to catch them out".