The government is launching an independent review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments, after concerns some families were forced to pay back thousands of pounds in erroneous payments.
In many cases, the sudden demand to pay back benefits left many families worse off and facing financial difficulties, carers have told the BBC.
The review will focus on how and why overpayments occurred, and how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can best support those with overpayments.
It will be chaired by Liz Sayce, the former chief executive of Disability Rights UK.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the department was “determined to put this right”.
Many carers say they were not aware that they had been wrongly overpaid the benefit for years – because many did not realise they had exceeded the threshold to claim the benefit.
Some have previously told the BBC they did not realise their mistakes, describing the allowance as “almost like a trap – it’s so complicated”.
The government gives an £81.90 allowance for people who care for someone for more than 35 hours a week.
But anyone who earns more than £151 a week from other work is required to repay all of their Carer’s Allowance.
A report released earlier this year surveying 1,000 carers made the estimate that 3% had to make repayments after changes in circumstances meant that they received the benefit in error, but the researchers said this may be an underestimate.
Official statistics show that 1,377,000 people currently claim Carer’s Allowance in Great Britain.
The same report released in May found the DWP had known since 2021 that overpayment of Carer’s Allowance has left some people in financial difficulty.
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