Senior officials at the Department for Work and Pensions are facing intense pressure over their handling of a long-running scandal that has seen hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers saddled with large, often unexpected, debts.
Systemic Failings and a 'Misleading' Response
The crisis stems from fundamental flaws in the administration of Carer's Allowance, a benefit worth £83.30 per week for those providing at least 35 hours of care. The rules state that if a carer's weekly earnings exceed £196, even by a single penny, they must repay the entire week's allowance. The DWP's failure to promptly alert carers when they breach this limit, despite having access to real-time earnings data, has led to individuals accruing debts sometimes exceeding £20,000 over many years, with the threat of criminal prosecution for fraud.
Following a damning independent review led by Professor Liz Sayce, which called for an overhaul of DWP management and culture, the department's top civil servant for the allowance, Neil Couling, sparked outrage by suggesting carers were at fault for the decade-long failures. This response has been labelled "misleading" by experts and charities.
Experts and Charities Lose Confidence in DWP Pledges
Professor Sue Yeandle, the UK's leading expert on unpaid care and an adviser to the Sayce review, stated that ministers and officials had put forward "really misleading" claims that the problem affected only a small number. Helen Walker, Chief Executive of Carers UK, emphasised the scale, stating: "This is not a small number of people. Its scale and the devastation caused to so many families cannot be over-estimated."
Yeandle expressed dwindling confidence in the DWP's commitment to change, noting that while the government initially claimed to accept "the vast majority" of the review's 40 recommendations, 13 were only partially accepted and two were rejected outright. She called for an unreserved government apology and consideration of compensation for affected families, stating the failures had caused "intolerable strain."
Mounting Scrutiny and Promises of Action
The department's most senior civil servant, Permanent Secretary Peter Schofield, is under scrutiny for overseeing the crisis despite assuring MPs in 2019 it would be resolved. He recently told the Public Accounts Committee: "I am sorry for all of those who are affected by this, but I am going to sort it out."
In response to a Guardian investigation and the Sayce review, ministers last month pledged approximately £75 million to address the scandal and ordered the reassessment of around 200,000 historical cases. The DWP estimates 26,000 carers may have debts reduced or cancelled, though experts believe the true figure is far higher.
Katy Styles of the We Care Campaign argued that systemic failings translate directly into "stress and financial insecurity" for carers and questioned whether the DWP's culture could change without clear political leadership. Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has distanced the department from Couling's comments, calling the allowance issue a "longstanding problem that was ignored by the previous government."
A DWP spokesperson said: "We inherited a system that let carers down – but we’re taking decisive action to put things right and rebuild trust... We’re already making changes, hiring extra staff to stop carers building up large debts... and we will continue putting things right."
