Birmingham mum-of-8 claimed £13k Universal Credit for teenagers she did not dwell with
Birmingham mum-of-eight, Carla Hunt claimed more than £13,000 in Universal Credit for children who no longer lived with her, as well as over £1,000 carer’s allowance
Carla Hunt at Birmingham Magistrates Court(Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
A mother-of-eight unlawfully claimed over £13,000 in Universal Credit for children who were no longer living with her. Carla Hunt also claimed than £1,000 in Carer’s Allowance to which she was not entitled.
The 38-year-old said that it ‘slipped her mind’ to inform the Department for Work and Pensions ( DWP ) that her children had been taken out of her care. She acknowledged her error and is now repaying the money.
Hunt broke down in tears as she received a 12-week suspended sentence for 12 months at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Friday (January 30), reports Birmingham Live.
After a trial held in her absence last year, she was found guilty of two counts of dishonestly failing to notify the DWP of a change in circumstances affecting her entitlement to benefits.
Prosecutor Savithru Wijeratne informed the court that Hunt claimed Universal Credit for her eight children from November 2021 and Carer’s Allowance for one of her sons from January that year.
He stated: “Evidence was obtained that Ms Hunt failed to notify Universal Credit that her children were removed from her care between the period of January 6, 2022 and June 6, 2022.”
Mr Wijeratne added: “She was arrested and interviewed in March 2023.
“The reason she gave for failing to notify Universal Credit included it having slipped her mind and she was unable to access the Universal Credit journal.
“And she was told by a social worker not to notify Universal Credit of her children’s removal because it was a temporary measure until the conclusion of court proceedings.”
In total, there was an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance of £1,254.60 between May and October 2022 and an overpayment of Universal Credit of £13,487.96 between January 2022 and January 2023. Hunt has already agreed to a repayment schedule.
Peter Ricketts, defending, revealed she had endured long-term domestic abuse and struggled with various mental health and learning difficulties that affected her grasp of paperwork and official processes.
He explained: “She’s a lady who has suffered a number of issues throughout her life.
“She became pregnant very young and left school without completing examinations.”
The solicitor emphasised that the benefit claims were legitimate at the outset.
Mr Ricketts continued: “Ms Hunt maintained one of the reasons she didn’t tell the DWP is she thought the children were going to be returned and it was only a matter of time.
“She tells me she was using the money received to improve the state of the house as it had been in a bad state.
“She was hoping that, in an improved state, her children would be returned. That didn’t happen. She accepts she should have done more.”
He also argued that Hunt hadn’t intentionally misled the DWP and confirmed she had no previous criminal record. Hunt was instructed to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay a £154 victim surcharge.
The Chair of the Bench stated: “We have thought long and hard about this today. We are not going to lecture you, you know what you did was wrong.
“We are going to suspend the prison sentence. Keep your nose clean, keep out of trouble and you won’t go to prison.”
