The Department for Work and Pensions has referred hundreds of Carer's Allowance claimants for criminal prosecution amid what's being described as a systemic failure in handling overpayments.
Carers treated as 'guilty until proven innocent'
A damning independent review has revealed that 852 unpaid carers were referred for criminal prosecution by the DWP over a six-year period ending in 2024. The investigation, led by Liz Sayce OBE, found that carers were disproportionately treated as guilty before being proven innocent.
The report highlights how the system assumed negligence as a default position rather than penalising claimants only where negligence was clearly demonstrated. This approach has left many carers facing severe consequences for what were often administrative errors.
Shocking scale of penalties revealed
Beyond the criminal referrals, the review uncovered that 1,510 carers received fines of up to £1,500 for overpayment issues. Perhaps most strikingly, Carer's Allowance claimants received more £50 civil penalties than recipients of any other benefit, including Universal Credit.
This disproportionate targeting occurs despite there being eight times fewer unpaid carers than people receiving other main benefits. The Sayce report concluded that the overwhelming majority of overpayments resulted from official error rather than deliberate rule-breaking.
Government admits system failures
Pat McFadden, the current DWP minister, acknowledged the inherited problems, stating: "We inherited a system where busy carers, already struggling under a huge weight of caring responsibility, have found themselves with unexpected debts due to overpayments of Carer's Allowance."
He confirmed that the government commissioned the independent review to understand how these overpayments occurred and to develop solutions supporting affected carers while preventing future issues.
The minister recognised that Carer's Allowance, introduced in 1976, hasn't kept pace with modern working patterns, noting that many carers need flexibility to combine paid work with caring responsibilities.
The scandal has exposed fundamental flaws in how the benefits system treats some of society's most vulnerable individuals, with calls growing for immediate reform to protect unpaid carers from unfair prosecution.
