Overpaid Allowance

Nearly 135,000 carers have been told they must repay £251 million in carer’s allowance that the Department for Work and Pensions says has been overpaid. They have fallen foul of a complicated rule that removes the right to carer’s allowance if a carer works and earns more than £151 a week. Many carers do some work – partly to supplement the meagre £81.90 a week they are paid as carers, and partly to have some respite and a few hours away from caring.

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His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs informs the DWP when a carer exceeds the limit, but it often takes the Department months or years to demand the money back. By which time the bill may have run into thousands of pounds – money the carer usually doesn’t have. Many have had to make payment agreements stretching their debt many years into the future. More than two-thirds of those being pursued for these debts – like most carers – are women. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has said it is looking into the issue. Tom Royston, a barrister who specialises in social security law, told me that any carer who gets a large bill from the DWP should consider two things. First, is there a case to ask the DWP not to recover the debt? You can do that by writing what Tom calls “a waiver request setting out why they think they should not have the money taken back”. Perhaps the DWP has let the debt build up by taking many months to act. Or the money is needed to provide for the disabled person they are caring for.