Senior officials face criticism after review found systemic failings plunged hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers into debt
Senior officials who oversaw a flawed benefits system that plunged hundreds of thousands of carers into debt are under mounting pressure over their “misleading” response to the scandal.
Prof Liz Sayce, the chair of a scathing review into the government’s treatment of unpaid carers, last week called for an overhaul of management and culture at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Days after the publication of the review, the DWP’s top civil servant in charge of carers’ allowance, Neil Couling, said carers themselves were at fault for the decade-long failures.
His comments, revealed by the Guardian, have prompted a key adviser to the Sayce review and a leading carer’s charity to declare a lack of confidence in the department’s pledge to fix the issues.
