Ministers apologise and return £7,000 in benefits to woman, 93, with dementia Exclusive: Elderly woman was allowed to run up debts in ‘disturbing’ case, the latest to emerge in Guardian investigation The Guardian - UK · May 15, 2024
MPs call on spending watchdog to investigate DWP overpayments to carers Select committee says scale of problem, carers’ testimony and cost to taxpayer warrants second inquiry into benefits system The Guardian - UK · May 10, 2024
Carer’s allowance scandal is not going away – but will DWP reform happen? After the Guardian exposé there is pressure on ministers to save people from a system described as ‘setting carers up for a fall’ The Guardian - UK · May 9, 2024
DWP’s unchecked database leaves tens of thousands of carers at risk of debt About 50% of earnings ‘alerts’ for carer’s allowance overpayments not looked at by staff, figures reveal The Guardian - UK · May 9, 2024
Work and pensions committee chair tells ministers to fix carer’s allowance issues Stephen Timms says DWP letting unpaid carers incur ‘enormous accidental overpayments’ The Guardian - UK · Apr 27, 2024
Hailed as a hero and then sacked: the carer’s allowance whistleblower Enrico La Rocca helped expose profound failures but less than a year later was dismissed by the DWP – and then later rehired The Guardian - UK · Apr 25, 2024
Sunak under pressure to grant amnesty to unpaid carers fined for rule breaches Concern grows over legality of approach as figures show more than 150,000 carers facing huge penalties The Guardian - UK · Apr 25, 2024
Ministers pledge to publish long-buried study into impact of fines on carers DWP carried out research in response to criticism five years ago but has consistently refused to publish it The Guardian - UK · Apr 24, 2024
UK government dementia adviser resigns over prosecutions of carers Johnny Timpson says he wants to ‘take a stand’ after revelations thousands of unpaid carers are being forced to pay huge fines The Guardian - UK · Apr 23, 2024
MPs call for carer’s allowance review as numbers overpaid soars Figures show 34,500 people incurred overpayments last year after falling foul of rules, landing many with huge debts The Guardian - UK · Apr 22, 2024
‘We’re already vulnerable’: the carers told to repay huge sums by the DWP Some of the tens of thousands penalised for ‘honest mistakes’ tell how their lives have been affected The Guardian - UK · Apr 19, 2024
Carers describe ‘avalanche of utter stress’ from DWP clawing back benefits Department under fire for forcing people to repay huge sums as data shows widespread ill health among those caring for relatives The Guardian - UK · Apr 19, 2024
Half a million unpaid carers in UK not claiming £4,200 a year benefit Campaigners say underclaiming is a result of restrictions on taking on paid work and harsh penalties for accidental rule breaches The Guardian - UK · Apr 19, 2024
‘Humiliated’: carer made to pay back £3.8k after mistake declaring income Davina Ware applied for benefits to help look after husband Mike, 72, who has lived with Parkinson’s for 20 years The Guardian - UK · Apr 19, 2024
The Guardian - UK · Apr 17, 2024 ‘Injustice’: 92-year-old with dementia told by DWP to repay £7k in disability allowance Rose Chitseko says her mother was too unwell to inform department of change in circumstance
The Guardian - UK · Apr 17, 2024 DWP warns carers they could face greater penalties if they appeal against fines Officials at Department for Work and Pensions accused of ‘threatening and cruel’ tactics over repayment orders
The Guardian - UK · Apr 16, 2024 Nearly 1m UK pensioners living in deprivation, official figures show Separate report suggests number of people living in poverty aged between 60 and pension age has tripled under Tories
The Guardian - UK · Apr 16, 2024 Labour plans review of carer’s allowance after thousands forced to repay Alison McGovern says UK would ‘grind to a halt’ without unpaid carers and confirms party will review system if it wins power
The Guardian - UK · Apr 15, 2024 Carers having to pay back thousands is very wrong, says Keir Starmer Labour leader was responding to a question from the BBC about Vivienne Groom, who was prosecuted over breach of benefit rules
Evening Standard · Apr 15, 2024 DWP: Study claims thousands of people receive less money on universal credit Think tank report says many people with disabilities would be better off under previous benefits system
The Guardian - UK · Apr 14, 2024 Leak reveals Tory plan to cut cold weather cash for disabled people Hundreds of thousands could lose out in England and Wales under disability benefit reforms after general election
The Guardian - UK · Apr 12, 2024 ‘They’re heartless’: how one woman fell victim to the carer’s allowance trap Karina Moon, who is sole carer for her daughter most of the week, was told she needed to repay £11,292.75 or be prosecuted for fraud
The Guardian - UK · Apr 12, 2024 Ex-ministers press Sunak on ‘persecution’ of carers who broke earnings rules David Blunkett and Alan Johnson join Iain Duncan Smith in dismay at DWP’s treatment of benefit recipients’ minor mistakes
The Guardian - UK · Apr 12, 2024 It’s a rotten system that puts unpaid carers in the dock Letters: A council’s benefits expert and a tribunal judge, plus other readers, respond to reports on how the DWP is persecuting carers for unwittingly breaching complicated benefits rules
The Guardian - UK · Apr 12, 2024 Friday briefing: ‘The little guy crushed by a ruthless state’ – how the carers scandal is growing In today’s newsletter: In an injustice that has echoes of the Post Office saga, carers are being prosecuted and fined thousands for minor, often accidental, rule breaches