The DWP has announced major reassessments following an official review which concluded that hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers were left with huge debts due to government failure
The Department for Work and Pensions has unveiled a series of new “reassessments” in the wake of a Carer’s Allowance scandal.
It means a vast number of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases re-evaluated and could be owed thousands in compensation.
This follows an official review which found that they had been burdened with enormous debts due to government failure and mismanagement. The Guardian reported that carers were slapped with harsh penalties of up to £20,000 related to carer’s allowance.
Some even claimed they were harassed and treated like criminals by DWP staff.
Labour Party cabinet minister McFadden, the welfare secretary, stated: “We inherited this mess from the previous government, but we’ve listened to carers, commissioned an independent review and are now making good for those affected.”
One claimant told the Guardian: “A lot of carers have suffered serious stress and worry over this. They’ve suffered ill-health as a result. It should be more than just about cancelling or reducing some overpayments.”
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Carers Trust’s chief executive Kirsty McHugh said: “As the review makes clear, the DWP’s guidance on overpayments was both wrong and confusing.
It was a huge error going back a decade that meant countless carers were wrongly judged to have received overpayments of carer’s allowance.”, reports Birmingham Live.
“We are pleased the DWP has taken it on the chin and listened to both carers and the services that support them.”
Katy Styles, from the We Care Campaign, stated: “If the Sayce review finally ensures carers can claim carer’s allowance with confidence, that’s not a minor tweak, that’s justice.
“If the government delivers this, it will be a huge win for people who’ve carried so much, for far too long. Carers deserve certainty, not constant anxiety.”
Disability policy expert Liz Sayce applauded the government’s pledge to scrutinise all carer’s allowance overpayments since 2015, noting that the policy had “major impacts on carers’ health, finances and family wellbeing”.
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