Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK said:

“The National Audit Office (NAO) report, published today, is yet further evidence of a broken system that is failing unpaid carers.

"That Carer’s Allowance debt has reached £250 million, £100 million more than in 2018-19, shows why the imminent independent review that has been recently announced is so urgent, and why the Carer's Allowance overpayment scandal must be stopped as quickly as possible.

“Despite many of these issues being raised over five years ago, a lack of action has seen the number of cases of overpayments increase by 71% between 2018-19 to 2023-24, – rising from 80,169 to 136,730. This represents a serious failure which has left thousands of carers experiencing emotional distress and financial hardship for years.

“Any recommendations and changes that come from the forthcoming independent review should be implemented by Government as soon as possible once it reports next Summer to prevent as many overpayments as possible from happening in the first place, as well as reducing the size of the debts for unpaid carers, who are often suffering financial hardship.

“This NAO report also underlines the need for the independent review to look carefully at the harsh ‘cliff-edge’ nature of the earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance, whereby carers exceeding the limit by even £1 means having to pay back the whole benefit and building large debts in a short period of time.

“While not within the scope of the independent review, we would also like to see further work by the Government to assess the adequacy of Carer’s Allowance and other financial support for unpaid carers to ensure they are properly supported, whatever their circumstances, whilst they provide vital care for family and friends.”