The Guardian view on supporting carers: the DWP’s problem is deeper than IT | Editorial

The Guardian view on supporting carers: the DWP’s problem is deeper than IT | Editorial

A taper is much better than a cliff-edge. But problems with carer’s allowance should have been solved years ago The reform of carer’s allowance – a benefit paid to people who spend 35 or more hours a week caring for a disabled relative – is overdue and welcome. The cliff-edge design that forces claimants in England and Wales to forfeit their entire payment if they breach an earnings limit of £204 a week by as little as a penny is wrong in principle and made much worse by the appalling way in which rules have been applied. A Guardian investigation revealed that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) failed to warn thousands of people who it knew were being overpaid. This resulted in debts and hardship, and hundreds of criminal convictions for fraud. Carers in already difficult personal circumstances described feeling driven to desperation and illness by what one called a “catch-out culture”. Most claimants are women on low incomes; the allowance is £86.45 a week. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...