Yahoo News DWP to make key change to Carer's Allowance after £20,000 repayments
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is preparing to implement a significant change to the Carer's Allowance. The move comes in response to mounting criticism and controversy surrounding a scandal that has seen unpaid carers prosecuted for exceeding the earnings threshold.
Many individuals receiving the benefit have been forced to repay sums as large as £20,000 after inadvertently violating government regulations which say that you cannot claim if your weekly income exceeds £151. In an effort to prevent future prosecutions, the DWP has unveiled new strategies.
The department is considering the use of targeted text messages or emails, sending alerts to claimants when potential overpayments are detected. This approach aims to prompt beneficiaries to get in touch with the DWP, thereby reducing the likelihood of overpayment.
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Under current DWP rules, if your earnings exceed the limit by even a single pound, you forfeit your entitlement to the Carer's Allowance. The majority of those claiming the allowance come from low-income households and are responsible for the care of ill or disabled family members.
The Carer's Allowance, valued at £81.90 per week, is granted to those who provide care for someone for at least 35 hours each week. The individual being cared for must also be in receipt of certain benefits, such as the Personal Independence Payment, reports Birmingham Live.
Recent reports have highlighted cases such as a woman who was instructed to repay nearly £6,000 to the DWP after she accepted an additional shift at Sainsbury's while caring for her seriously ill partner.
A full-time carer and father of three was compelled to sell his house or risk imprisonment after being prosecuted for receiving excess Carer's Allowance. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) conceded in a letter last month that he likely made an innocent error.
