The UK Government has promised a plan to “put things right” on overpayments to carers which have led to many unwittingly racking up unmanageable levels of debt and some quitting their jobs as a result. The issue of people being penalised for going over their earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance even by as little as a few pence per week has been branded a “scandal” by a charity.
A Government report written in 2021 but only published in May this year suggested 3 per cent of their sample of claimants had received an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance. With about 1.3 million people receiving Carer’s Allowance, the Carers Trust charity said this could equate to tens of thousands of people having been overpaid.
Top Money Stories Today The report states: “Action is urgently required to prevent carers from experiencing the financial hardship and ill-health that repaying overpayments can cause. It is the length of time and therefore the large size of the overpayments that make the debts particularly difficult to repay.
Ahead of the meeting, Sir Stephen, who is now a Government minister for social security and disability, said: “Our country would grind to a halt without the millions of carers who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day. Latest Benefits News Carers UK chief executive Helen Walker said: “We’re pleased that Sir Stephen Timms is listening to carers and taking this opportunity to meet with us.
“It is heart-breaking to hear of instances where thousands of pounds of debts have been accumulated. This has been going on for years and not enough has been done by the Government to fundamentally change the situation. It simply cannot continue.”
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