Helen Walker, Chief Executive at Carers UK, said: 

“Whilst we are pleased to hear that the current Government is aiming to tackle 100% of overpayments alerts, we’re disappointed to hear that they will not halt the creation of new overpayment debts until the review has concluded, which would have brought positive life-changing consequences for carers and their families.   

“When the alerts target was set at 50%, thousands of carers have been missed and experienced large and damaging overpayments, in a situation that could have been largely avoided.   

“We have been calling for early notification of earnings threshold breaches for a long time to avoid devastating cases where overpayments have built up into large sums. The Government saying that it will tackle this in 2025 by improving information is positive, but we also need to see better outcomes for carers. Government investment in communications trials is long overdue and should rightly be a key priority.  

“As the Department for Work and Pensions works to clear the current backlog, the human cost of a system which needed an overhaul years ago will still continue to rise. Sadly, clearing the backlog is likely to result in a further rise for overpayments debts.  

“It’s good to see an increase in the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold, but this still leaves us with a ‘cliff edge’ which is the cause of such large overpayments.  Carers UK welcomes the Government’s reference to a taper. However, we’re concerned that even if this is feasible, it could be a solution that is years away. We need to ensure that unpaid carers on low incomes, often with fluctuating earnings, are supported and protected at a time in their lives when they are already under significant pressure.”