The DWP is hiring additional staff so that it can check on 100% of the carer’s allowance (CA) breach alerts it receives and quickly contact carers if they are being overpaid, the Guardian reports.
Up until now, the DWP has only checked 50% of alerts, meaning that many CA claimants unknowingly built up many thousands of pound in overpayments before they were finally informed.
However, the increased rate of checking inevitably means that many more people will now be informed that they have built up historic arrears and they will be required to pay them back in full.
An independent review of the carer’s allowance overpayment scandal is not expected to report until the summer.
Carers UK welcomed the change but said they are “still calling on the Government to halt new Carer's Allowance overpayments until the Government fixes the flaws in an unfair benefits system.”
You can read the full story in the Guardian.
