Plans to text and email carers at risk of benefit overpayments have been welcomed by a charity.
Carers UK said it was reacting “positively“ to the move by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Carers UK policy director Emily Holzhausen says alerting those at risk of benefit overpayments is the minimum the charity has called for
The DWP faced criticism for prosecuting carers who inadvertently exceeded the earnings threshold for Carer’s Allowance.
Carers have repaid thousands
The Guardian has revealed that tens of thousands of carers have repaid thousands of pounds.
But Carers UK insists the benefit is still not fit for purpose.
By going just £1 over the £151 per week earnings limit, carers lose 100 per cent of their entitlement to the £81.90 per week benefit.
Carers clock up huge debts
When carers go over the earnings limit, tax officials inform the DWP.
Critically, however, the tax officials do not notify the carer that they have exceeded the earnings limit.
This can go on for years, with carers clocking up debts of tens of thousands of pounds.
Emily Holzhausen is policy director at Carers UK.
She said the move to an alert system is the “minimum” the charity was seeking.
Holzhausen wants the changes implemented urgently.
She added that the issue should not be branded as benefit fraud. There should be more recognition that carers are “often vulnerable”, she said.
Australian alternative
Katy Styles is founder of the We Care Campaign, which defends carers’ rights.
Styles, from Canterbury, is a full-time carer for husband Mark, who has motor neurone disease.
She said the Australian government sets a limit on the number of hours carers can work, instead of capping earnings.
Styles wants to see the UK Government take this approach.
She said whereas UK carers can fall foul of the earnings limit when their wages increase, this “makes no difference” under the Australian system.
A DWP spokesperson said the alert system will “ensure customers fulfil their obligations to inform DWP when changes in their circumstances have occurred”.
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Published: 17 June 2024
