Victims of carer’s allowance crisis ‘need speedier repayments’, say campaigners

Just 1.04% of estimated 230,900 cases have been reviewed in first five months of £75m three-year scheme

Campaigners have urged Andy Burnham to step in after it emerged just a handful of the tens of thousands of unpaid carers who unknowingly racked up huge debts when welfare officials unlawfully changed benefits guidance have been repaid.

Only 2,400 cases (1.04%) of an estimated caseload of 230,900 had been reviewed in the first five months of the £75m three-year scheme, with just 100 carers receiving a total of £40,000. The average repayment to individual carers was £342.

“After years of waiting for justice, only a small number of carers have had their cases reviewed five months into this exercise,” said Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK.

“There there must be a clear and realistic plan to accelerate progress. With 230,900 identified cases still awaiting review, these figures raise serious questions about whether DWP is on track to deliver within the funding period.”

The DWP is understood to have prioritised accuracy over speed in its approach and remains confident it will complete the reassessment exercise on schedule by March 2029. It plans to double the number of staff on the project to 250 by next April.

The Sayce review was triggered by an award-winning Guardian investigation, which revealed how hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers were pushed into financial hardship and emotional despair as a result of years of official neglect and failure.

The figures show that DWP has made full repayments to 100 carers totalling £40,000, and reduced overpayment debt incurred by a further 100 carers by a total of £20,000. The amount returned to carers is 41% lower than initially estimated.

The reassessment exercise covers cases where the DWP breached the law by failing to allow carers with irregular wages from part-time work to average their incomes over a year, unfairly exposing them to being penalised for breaching earnings limits.

Campaigners praised the government for taking action to put right carer’s allowance injustices. But they are also frustrated at the lack of progress on other Sayce review recommendations, including overpayments caused by universal credit faults, and debts caused by officials failing to act on earnings information given by carers.

“To support the exercise we have been recruiting and training new decision makers in a rolling programme, ensuring we take the time to assess cases with the accuracy that carers deserve.

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