‘DWP despatched me a letter saying I owed £1,500 – carers are worst-treated in advantages system’
Thousands of unpaid carers landed with huge debts due to government failings could have historic overpayments cancelled or repaid after a damning review published on Tuesday
Thousands of unpaid carers landed with huge debts due to government failings could have historic overpayments cancelled or repaid after a damning review.
It comes as ministers pledged to reassess all cases in the scandal which saw people slapped with debts for exceeding the weekly limit for carers allowance. A report published today found flawed guidance was issued to carers.
It concluded many felt like they were “treated as criminals, with resulting feelings of fear and shame” and had a major impact on carers’ health and finances. Historic overpayments led to many carers – who had to earn £151 a week or less to qualify for carer’s allowance – racking up massive levels of debt.
Carer’s allowance, which is currently £83.30 a week, is paid to someone who spends at least 35 hours a week providing regular care to someone. They were able to receive this as long as their other earnings did not exceed £151. But under a “cliff edge” limit carers have to pay back the whole amount – even if they earn just one penny over the threshold – with debts running rapidly into thousands of pounds. The earnings threshold rose to £196 a week from April this year.
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The report into the scandal said the DWP “failed to act systematically on previous reports and to take actions that could have stemmed these overpayments”. “The report finds these failings to be so serious that in cases affected by averaging and allowable expenses, overpayments should be classified as DWP’s errors and thus unrecoverable,” it added.
The DWP has accepted that unpaid carers were let down by confusing rules – in place between 2015 and summer 2025. It added where it is found that overpayments were lower than originally calculated, carers will have their debts reduced or cancelled entirely. Money already repaid will be refunded.
Liz Sayce, a disability rights expert who led the year-long review, said: “My review found that overpayment debt has had major impacts on carers’ health, finances and family well-being, and been a disincentive to work. I’m glad government now plans to review cases and cancel or reduce debts affected by flawed guidance.”
She added: “This wasn’t wilful rule-breaking – it simply wasn’t clear what earnings fluctuations carers should report. I’m pleased DWP has tackled the backlog of earnings data, so people shouldn’t suddenly face large debts going back years. I hope those affected feel they have been heard.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the decision to reassess cases “will be welcome news for thousands of carers failed by the system under the previous government”. She added: “We will right these wrongs, carers give so much to their families and to their local communities, and they deserve our support.”
Work and Pensions Secretary, Pat McFadden, said: “Carers are vital to our communities, and when the system lets them down, we have a duty to put it right. The Sayce Review has shown us clearly that the guidance on earnings averaging was confusing. We inherited this mess from the previous government, but we’ve listened to carers, commissioned an independent review, and are now making good for those affected.”
Chief Executive of Carers UK Helen Walker said: “It’s a really important day for carers today and in Carers UK’s 60 year history. Carers UK is really pleased that this issue we’ve raised for nearly 8 years is finally being addressed, with system failures acknowledged. We welcome the fact that Government has committed to writing off debt, where overpayments were lower than originally calculated, reducing or cancelled debts entirely, with refunding any money already repaid.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, who has long campaigned on the issue and spoken of his own experiences as a carer for family members, said carers are owed an apology and called for compensation. The review stopped short of making this recommendation. He said: “The Government and Conservative ministers should apologise to the tens of thousands of carers who were treated so disgracefully in the last parliament, having ignored all the evidence that this was a failing, broken system, out of step with the law.
“We welcome that cases will be reassessed. But I’m worried that many carers face many more months of being hounded, with changes not due to come into force for another year. This would be an unacceptable and shameful further injustice.”
‘Carers are forgotten people – without us the whole system collapses’
Carer Emma Martin said she felt sick when a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions was posted through her letterbox back in 2015. She told The Mirror: “I literally just got a letter dropped on my front doorstep saying that I owed the DWP a certain amount of money – it was approximately £1,500.”
Emma, who claims carers’ allowance and looks after her 28-year-old daughter Mia, who has autism and epilepsy, was forced to turn to her family to help pay the money. At the time she worked part-time as a nursery teacher to top-up her income but for around three or four months had gone over the carers’ allowance earning limit of just £151-per-week.
She said it was only by a “silly amount”, adding: “It could have only been 50p. But for that 50p they would take the whole month’s carers’ allowance away.” Emma said she didn’t receive any warnings from the DWP, “it just landed on the doorstep – I had no clue”. She said: “It was kind of the first time I’d heard of it. I did phone them and they said ‘no it’s got to be paid back.”
Emma said of her daughter Mia: “She literally needs 24/7 support. She’s never on her own, she’ll never live independently. It’s round-the-clock.” She joked: “She’s like Henry VIII, she gets waited on hand and foot.”
The 54-year-old who lives just outside Exeter said she has spent her whole adult life caring for Mia, “everything from prepping her meds, to personal care, just literally everything”. “Don’t get me wrong, she can do things, but she can’t boil a kettle, or run herself a bath, or any of the simple things.”
Emma now hopes as the government reassess all cases she will now be repaid the money. She said: “To penalise carers that are trying to just survive basically – it’s expensive having a disabled child. To lose a whole month’s money of £300 just for 50p is insane. It’s not fair.”
Emma, who has met other carers landed with bills, said: “Having it hang over people that they owe thousands when really the people who were at complete fault were the DWP who should have given those carers that information.”
She added: “I think carers are the worst-treated people in the benefits system, if you want to call it a benefit because it’s taxable. I just think carers are forgotten people because without us the whole system collapses, the whole system fails. I think we need to be recognised a lot more.”
