Carers threatened with prosecution over minor breaches of UK benefit rules,DWP is forcing tens of thousands of people looking after relatives to repay huge sums after buildup of erroneous overpayments

.John Bellamy Comments:

Just as we hear about the Post Office scandal and how the government and Post Office abused its position to destroy thousands of peoples lives because of their own ineptitude and incompetence - here we go again with another scandal where carers are being abused and financially ruined by a system to unprofessional for words and the departments and staff involved do not give a damn about whose lives they run as long as they are seen to be doing their jobs. Clearly the whole system needs a complete reboot.

OUTRAGROUS INCOMPETENCE AT THE HANDS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WORKS AND PENSIONS.

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Tens of thousands of unpaid carers looking after disabled, frail or ill relatives are being forced to repay huge sums to the government and threatened with criminal prosecution after unwittingly breaching earnings rules by just a few pounds a week.

People who claim the £81.90-a-week carer’s allowance for looking after loved ones while working part-time are being forced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay back money that has been erroneously overpaid to them, in some cases running to more than £20,000, or risk going to prison.

The repayments, which mainly hit carers on low incomes, have been criticised as a draconian response to mostly minor earnings rules infringements caused by DWP oversights, and what MPs have called “honest mistakes” by claimants confused by an opaque and complex system.

MPs and charities have called for an urgent overhaul of the carer’s allowance, saying it was wrong that carers who devoted their lives to looking after loved ones, saving the UK billions of pounds and helping prop up the NHS and care system, were being treated like fraudsters for mostly inadvertent errors.

Why are so many carers being taken to court for benefit fraud?

Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrat leader, said: “Most unpaid carers struggle financially, and for many it takes a toll on their mental and physical health too. The truth is, unpaid family carers underpin our entire care sector, and help to keep the NHS on its feet too. The government should value and support carers, not treat them like criminals.”

READ THE REST OF THIS REPORT HERE

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