Carers UK responds to ruling following the tribunal appeal of a Carer's Allowance overpayment by unpaid carer Andrea Tucker, as reported in The Guardian

Carers UK has gathered evidence of the shocking impact Carer’s Allowance overpayments over a long period, campaigning for swift action from the Government. We handed in a dossier to Sir Stephen Timms, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability within the first few weeks of the new Government and have ensured that they listen to carers and heard their experiences first-hand.

Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, said:  

“Far too many carers are currently repaying debts that they should not have been given in the first place. If averaging rules were applied fairly and carers were informed quickly when they potentially breached earnings limits, many of the 137,000 unpaid carers currently repaying debts to DWP would not be in this extremely stressful situation now. 

“Confusion and lack of clear information about averaging of earnings seems to be behind many of the experiences of overpayments we have heard about from carers. It would be extremely concerning if DWP changed internal guidance on averaging in 2020 (Guardian 10.02.25) but did not inform carers of this change. 

“Unpaid carers claiming Carer's Allowance are time-poor and often living on very low incomes, juggling a part-time job as well as caring for their loved one at least 35 hours every week. As many as 1.2m unpaid carers are living in poverty across the UK, with 400,000 in deep poverty. To get a letter from DWP demanding significant sums of money comes as a huge shock and causes enormous stress to the carers as well as their families. This was clearly illustrated by our Carers Allowance overpayments report  published last year. Many have suffered years of additional hardship as they try to pay this back.  

“The independent review on Carer’s Allowance overpayments needs to look back as well as forward, to ensure that carers who have already accumulated large debts and could have been informed much sooner by DWP, have their debts written off. We also urge the Government to look at Carer’s Allowance as a whole – its low level, its strict eligibility rules and its processes – to ensure it is supporting the carers who have to rely on it for financial assistance, whilst they are providing vital care to someone who needs it.”