Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has commissioned an “open and transparent” independent review of carer’s allowance overpayments, after it emerged that tens of thousands of carers were being made to repay significant overpayments.
Liz Sayce, the former chief executive of the charity Disability Rights UK, will lead the review, which will examine how and why overpayments occurred and how DWP can support those affected.
Announcing the move this morning, Kendall said there were particular concerns about carers who had been forced to make repayments after breaching the earnings limit for the benefit by a “small amount”.
Unpaid carers who look after someone who receives certain benefits for at least 35 hours a week are eligible for the allowance, which is worth £81.90 a week.
However, carers can only claim the benefit if they earn less than £151 a week from paid work after tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and allowable expenses.
Earlier this year, a Guardian investigation revealed tens of thousands of carers had been hit with overpayment notices after breaching the earnings limit, often by a very small amount. In many cases, DWP did not identify the overpayments until months or years later, and in some cases, carers were threatened with criminal prosecution.
A recent survey of 12,500 unpaid carers by Carers UK meanwhile found that of the 40% who claim or had claimed carer’s allowance, one in five had had to pay back overpayments because they had unknowingly breaching the earnings limit.
As of 14 May, there were 134,800 people with an outstanding carers allowance debt – with a total value of £251m – according to internal DWP figures shared by Paul Maynard, then a minister in the department, in response to a parliamentary question that month.
Sayce, now a visiting professor in practice at the London School of Economics, said her work “aims to get to the bottom of how overpayments have occurred and how to prevent people who devote such time and care to others facing these difficulties in future”.
In a statement, Kendall said it was “brilliant that Liz Sayce has agreed to lead this with all the experience she brings”.
Sayce was the interim chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee, from August 2019 until August 2020. She has also held senior roles at the Disability Rights Commission and the mental-health charity Mind.
She led an independent review into disability employment programmes for DWP in 2011.
Kendall added: "I have been a lifelong champion of family carers and know many have been pushed to breaking point looking after the people they love. This is not okay. We’re determined to learn lessons and put this right."
The work and pensions secretary also told the Guardian she had found accounts of carers who have had to pay back large sums "distressing".
“I am determined to be open and transparent about what has happened in carer’s allowance and to learn all the lessons. This review marks a big step forward for unpaid carers, shedding light on this issue so we can put things right,” she added.
Further details, including the timeline of the review, will be announced in "due course".