Carer’s Allowance Cliff Edge to Be Scrapped
The rule that strips unpaid carers of their whole weekly carer’s allowance for earning a penny over the limit is to be replaced by a taper, with £1 withdrawn for every £1 earned above it. The change follows years of reporting on carers left with debts running into thousands of pounds.
The arithmetic of the old rule was brutal. The earnings limit is £204 a week and the allowance £86.45; a carer a penny over for a year would breach it by 52p yet owe £4,495.40. Overpayment debts typically ran to £2,000–£5,000 and in some cases £20,000, and some carers were convicted of fraud. An independent review by Liz Sayce, published last year, found hardship on a huge scale. The taper removes the penalty for working an extra shift or taking a pay rise It does not, however, raise the limit itself.