Key facts:
- As of November 2023, there were over 991,000 people in receipt of Carers Allowance.
- As of 14 May 2024, there are 134,800 people with an outstanding Carer’s Allowance debt – a total value of £251m.
- In 2023/24 there were 34,500 overpayments as a result of carers breaching the earnings limit.
- Around 70% of all overpayments are due to the earnings limit.
- Women make up the majority of Carer’s Allowance claims, and this is reflected in the proportion of those with an outstanding Carer’s Allowance debt. As of 14th May 2024, there were 42,800 (32%) males, 91,900 (68%) females and 100 (less than 1%) not identified, with an outstanding Carer’s Allowance debt.
- The NAO report found that few overpayments are proven fraud: the number of people the DWP referred for prosecution fell from 1,176 in 2014-15 to 483 people in 2018-19. The report also found that some overpayments are caused by mistakes within the DWP.8
- It can take carers several years to repay their debts. The NAO report in April 2019 found that carers on benefits with an overpayment of £20,000 could be repaying the debt for the next 34 years