DWP begins to 'claw back' money with claimants 'suicidal and self-harming'

The Department for Work and Pensions has started to "claw back" money from unpaid carers with people who've claimed Carer's Allowance warned. Carers have said their health is suffering as DWP claws back benefits amid the Cost of Living crisis.

Dozens of people caring for frail, sick or elderly relatives describe ‘devastating’ effect of DWP’s approach to ‘honest mistakes’. One woman said her mother had become “severely depressed, suicidal and self-harming” after being ordered to repay two years’ worth of benefit.

A second said she was “made to feel like a fraudster”. She added: “I couldn’t eat or sleep. I lost weight. I was on antidepressants. I was terrified I’d go to prison. I’m still traumatised, years later. It’s a terrible system. It feels like a trap.”

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“I cannot begin to describe the avalanche of utter stress that those DWP overpayment letters triggered,” a third said. “Carers allowance and universal credit overpayments are damaging, draining and destroying the fragile lives of ill and disabled patients and their carers.”

Dr Siobhan O’Dwyer, an associate professor in adult social care at the University of Birmingham, told the Guardian: “This pursuit by the DWP is going to make carers feel more trapped and less supported, which is only going to increase the risk of carers thinking about or attempting to take their own lives.”

In a statement, the DWP spoke out and told the newspaper this week amid the growing backlash: “We are committed to fairness in the welfare system, with safeguards in place for managing repayments, while protecting the public purse."

The spokesperson for the government benefits department went on to say: “Claimants have a responsibility to consistently inform DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award, and it is right that we recover taxpayers’ money when this has not occurred.”