DWP accused of 'threatening' carers for 'honest mistakes'

Government officials have come under fire for employing "threatening and cruel" tactics against unpaid carers, with warnings of steeper fines if they contest "vindictive" benefit penalties. Reports suggested that thousands of carers for the disabled or sick have been hit with hefty repayments after being pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for "honest mistakes" that could have been identified much earlier.

Many carers feel trapped and unable to fight back against these steep fines, which can amount to several thousand pounds, even when the error lies with the authorities. The Guardian reported that the DWP is cautioning carers they might face increased fines if they appeal a repayment demand.

In a June 2023 correspondence, the department cautioned an unpaid carer that contesting the order could lead to a full review of their claim from its inception, potentially increasing the overpayment if additional periods of earnings above the permitted limit are found. This particular carer, caring for a husband with dementia and Parkinson's, was told to return nearly £4,000 after mistakenly surpassing the weekly earnings cap of £151 due to calculating her zero-hours contract monthly, as she thought the rules stipulated, instead of every four weeks.

The former council worker confessed that this ordeal had "destroyed" her confidence, making her feel powerless against the DWP. "I can't afford this bill but I can't afford to argue with them because if I do I've made these mistakes already, chances are I've made other mistakes," she expressed.

Cristina Odone, who leads family policy at the Centre for Social Justice, a centre-right thinktank, characterised the DWP's strategy as "threatening and incredibly cruel".

She further explained: "Again and again, if you talk to ordinary people, the DWP raises their hackles and their fears because it is the state possibly coming to claw back benefits."

"It is the most hostile bit of the state for so many people. This just confirms their wariness of the DWP as the bit of government that is the least sympathetic, most faceless and most heartless."

Entitled to £81.90 a week as a carer's allowance the smallest benefit of its kind unpaid carers must provide care for at least 35 hours a week. They can work; however, their profit must not exceed £151 a week post tax and expenses.

If individuals earn more than the £151 weekly limit, even as marginally as 1p more, they must refund the entire week's carer's allowance for the full period in which they broke the regulations. Critics have labelled this as a "cliff edge" approach.

A multitude of carers have unwittingly broken this rule and been entirely unaware until several years later, when notified by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), despite current technology allowing the government to prevent such breaches far sooner.

Many carers have ended up in debt, were compelled to sell their houses and even obtained criminal records circumstances they argue resulted from "honest mistakes" the DWP should have detected much earlier.

Calls for the government to suspend investigations into unpaid carers and conduct a review of any shortcomings have been raised in parliament, including from three previous heads of the Work and Pensions department among them Iain Duncan Smith. "It's simply vindictive," blasted Debbie Abrahams, a Labour MP on the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, about the DWP's methodology.

The DWP's attempt to discourage people from making appeals has been branded as "]quite troubling and quite unsavoury" by Jolyon Maugham, director of the Good Law Project, a group backing unpaid carers. He added: "Parliament has set up an appellant system to enable appeals against demands that people repay carer's allowance. For the DWP to take steps to discourage people from using this very important safeguard is itself quite troubling.["

Meanwhile, Emily Holzhausen, Director of Policy at Carers UK, said unpaid carers often find themselves feeling "]stuck in a place where they feel unable to challenge decisions even though they have a legal right to do so[".

The DWP stated: "Carers across the UK are unsung heroes who make a huge difference to someone else's life and we have increased carer's allowance by almost £1,500 since 2010."

"We have safeguards in place for managing repayments, that's why visiting officers are available to provide support and assistance to customers when attending their homes, particularly for those deemed vulnerable."

"Claimants have a responsibility to 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."