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Written question asked by Baroness Tyler of Enfield (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 21 July 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 4 August 2026. It was answered by Baroness Sherlock (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 August 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Carer's Allowance: Overpayments

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to tackle the level of debt repayments unpaid carers in receipt of carer's allowance are continuing to face, following overpayments of carer's allowance; and how many unpaid carers are still affected and at risk of prosecution due to overpayments of carer's allowance.

Answer

The Department is making full use of automated notifications of earnings from HMRC to notify Carer’s Allowance recipients that they may be exceeding the weekly earnings limit. This should reduce both the number and size of overpayments linked to earnings, and was a measure welcomed by Liz Sayce in her independent review into such overpayments.

With respect to recovery of debt caused by overpayments, the Department remains committed to working with all customers to agree repayment terms, and strives to set affordable, sustainable repayment plans. Anyone who is unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment can contact DWP’s Debt Management at the earliest opportunity.

For a case to be considered for prosecution, there must have been a suspicion of fraud, a full criminal investigation, consideration of the public interest test and agreement from the Crown Prosecution Service to bring the case forward.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2463
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Debts Overpayments Prosecutions Repayments Carer's allowance
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk