The public accounts committee (PAC) has called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to speed up redress for tens of thousands of unpaid carers wrongly hit with benefit debts. The committee said 'systemic issues' and management failures at the DWP led to carers being incorrectly forced to repay overpayments, some running into thousands of pounds.
The PAC criticised a 'lack of integrated, concerted leadership' that allowed problems with carer's allowance to persist for years. It urged the DWP to rebuild trust by giving the issue 'the leadership and attention it has long deserved'. The comments follow a Guardian investigation revealing the DWP knew about but failed to tackle ingrained design and administration flaws that saw hundreds of thousands of carers unfairly plunged into debt.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative chair of the PAC, said: 'The Guardian is right to call this a scandal. These were people on modest incomes doing a very important job looking after loved ones, who had done nothing wrong.' A government-commissioned review in November concluded carers should not be blamed for a complex, outdated and punitive system, with many suffering 'profound' negative effects on health, finances and wellbeing.
Official estimates indicate at least 26,000 carers were wrongly penalised for supposed breaches of benefit rules meant to allow those with irregular earnings, such as teachers, to care while working part-time. Ministers have ordered a two-year, £75m review of more than 200,000 earnings-related overpayment demands stretching back over a decade, which may see some debts cleared or reduced.
The DWP permanent secretary, Sir Peter Schofield, announced he will step down in July after eight years, though the department insists his departure is unrelated to the carer's allowance scandal. Labour MP Anna Dixon, a PAC member, said his departure offered a chance for a reset, but questioned whether the department has 'the capacity and culture to put past wrongs right'.
The PAC said it will 'keep a close eye' on the DWP and urged it to report back on progress within six months. A DWP spokesperson said: 'We inherited a system that let carers down but we're taking decisive action... We'll also reassess affected cases and potentially reduce, cancel or refund debts for tens of thousands of carers.'
