Davey: NAO report reveals “staggering” scale of Carer’s Allowance scandal

EMBARGO: 00:01 on Wednesday 11th December 2024

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey has called for an immediate halt to Carer’s Allowance repayment demands, as a new report from the National Audit Office lays bare the extent of the scandal.

The NAO report reveals that:

• There were a shocking 262,793 cases of Carer’s Allowance overpayments over the last five years of Conservative Government.
• Today, 136,730 people are caught up in outstanding debt for Carer’s Allowance overpayments.
• The number of DWP staff tasked with preventing overpayments by investigating earnings alerts was cut by 14% in the last two years of the Conservative Government, from 71 full-time equivalents to 61.

Responding to the report, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“It is appalling that so many family carers have been caught up in this scandal of the DWP’s own making. This has caused misery and distress on a staggering scale.

“I’m glad that campaigners were able to secure a review into this scandal, but it cannot be right to keep pursuing tens of thousands of carers for repayments while that review does its work.

“This scandal has already dragged on for years under the last Conservative Government, so Ministers should immediately halt repayment demands and threats of prosecution until the review has completed and the system has been reformed.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

The NAO report on Carer’s Allowance will be available at www.nao.org.uk/reports/carers-allowance