Over 9,000 carers who are unpaid and care for sick or disabled relatives have recently fallen into debt due to overpayments of carer’s allowance over the past year. This issue has sparked demands for the government to halt the controversial practice of recovery of such debts. The government has pledged to address the carer’s allowance controversy and has initiated a review. However, the latest figures indicate that carers are still being caught off guard by the system, resulting in debts that can accumulate to thousands of pounds.
In total, 144,000 carers are currently facing repayments due to stringent “cliff-edge” rules that limit their earnings from part-time jobs while claiming carer’s allowance benefits.
A Guardian investigation has uncovered that the harsh and rigidly enforced rules, combined with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failing to notify carers of overpayment, have led to debts of up to £20,000. This has outraged the public and drawn parallels to the Post Office scandal.
Under the carer’s allowance earnings rules, if a carer earns just £1 more than the £151 weekly threshold for a year, they would need to repay not £52 but £4,258.80. Carers with overpayment debts exceeding £5,000 also risk potential criminal prosecution, with over 250 carers having been prosecuted since April.
Carer charities have written to ministers asking them to stop creating new overpayment debts until the independent review of carer’s allowance is concluded. They also want to see existing debts forgiven where the DWP’s failures have contributed to them.
The letter from charities argues that many carers already face financial struggles, and these debts can affect entire households, including children and disabled family members. The note emphasizes the invaluable contributions carers make to society, suggesting the system should value their efforts rather than burdening them with debt for trying to balance paid employment and unpaid care.
This letter is signed by 108 charities and campaign groups, including prominent organizations like Carers UK and Disability Rights UK, as well as numerous local grassroots carer groups from across the UK.
Karina Moon, an unpaid carer repaying £11,000 after unwittingly breaching earnings limits, finds it “disgusting” that the government continues to pursue vulnerable individuals. Moon, who earns just under £1 an hour for her full-time caregiving duties, criticizes the minimal carer’s allowance rate. If her daughter were to be placed in full-time care, she believes the government would have to pay a caregiver substantially more than £1 an hour.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/21/ministers-urged-to-act-as-thousands-more-hit-by-uk-carers-allowance-debts
