Carers UK welcomes Government commitment to publish the independent review into overpayments of Carer’s Allowance and its response before the end of this year, as stated during the final report stages of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in the Lords last night 21/10/25.
Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK said:
“We are pleased to hear that the Government is finalising its response to the review by Liz Sayce OBE into the scandal of Carer’s Allowance overpayments and is committed to publishing both the report and the Government’s response before the end of the year.
“We are reassured to hear that the Government and the new Secretary of State have acknowledged the depth and complexity of the report and the review and are undertaking a detailed consideration of the findings.
“This reflects the seriousness and the complexity of the issues that hundreds of carers subjected to an overpayment have been raising with Carers UK.
“The devastating financial and emotional impact on thousands of unpaid carers who have inadvertently breached the earnings threshold and their families has been widely reported and detailed in our report. It is positive to hear that the scale of the issue has been understood and look forward to a robust response.
“In Carers UK’s response to the overpayments review, we have called for a suite of changes from Government based on the compelling evidence provided to us by carers.
This includes:
-
writing off overpayment debts,
-
improved information and advice,
-
improved communications,
-
clarity about deductible expenses,
-
clarity and transparency about averaging of earnings rules,
-
easier communications from carers to the DWP and vice-versa,
-
clarity about when and how overpayments occurred,
-
how they were calculated and on what basis and how repayments are tracked/communicated,
-
introducing a taper for Carer’s Allowance earnings to remove the cliff edge.
Government has already made some changes including raising the earnings limit on Carer’s Allowance to peg it with 16 times the National Living Wage – now at £196 per week. This is the largest increase to the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit since 1976. Government is also scoping a taper for Carer’s Allowance, which it says is very complex and that implementation, if it went ahead, would take years because processes would need to be rebuilt."