Unpaid carers were pushed into debt and distress and hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money wasted
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Repeated failures by Tory ministers and top welfare officials pushed hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers into debt and distress, and led to hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money being wasted, a devastating review has concluded.
The independent review of carer’s allowance benefit overpayments identified “systemic issues” at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and said carers could not be blamed for falling foul of unclear and confusing benefit rules.
The review was triggered after a Guardian investigation revealed how carers had been hit with draconian penalties of as much as £20,000 after unwittingly and unfairly running up overpayments of the carer’s allowance.
