Asked by:
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work it will undertake with (a) the Department for Work and Pensions and (b) Social Security Scotland during the roll-out of, and process of case transfer to, Carer Support Payment, to increase the level of help and advice available to unpaid carers in Scotland who may have been left in debt due to overpayments of Carer's Allowance.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
The Scottish Government has urged the DWP to carefully consider people’s individual circumstances before any recovery of Carer’s Allowance overpayments from carers. It is our established policy that no-one should be placed into hardship as a result of overpayment recovery. Social Security Scotland have in place processes to prevent and identify overpayments as quickly as possible, and will consider an individual’s financial and personal circumstances as far as they are known before recovery is attempted. Social Security Scotland will discuss the best way forward for individuals and anyone affected will be able to seek support and advice before agreeing any repayment plan. Any deductions are set at manageable levels and individuals can seek a redetermination and appeal where a new determination has been made. Discussions are ongoing with the DWP as to potential arrangements for the recovery of any Carer’s Allowance overpayments for carers in Scotland that remain once case transfer is complete and the current Agency Agreement comes to an end.
Jul. 08 2008
Source Page: Table showing number of benefit claimants in Scottish (Westminster) parliamentary consitutuencies, broken down by type of benefit as at November 2007. 3 p.Found: or Severe Disablement Allowance; - Lone Parent: claimant on Income Support with child under 16 and no
Apr. 26 2011
Source Page: Table showing estimate of a) Department for Work and Pensions expenditure by benefit in i)nominal and ii) real terms from 1948/49 to 2015/16 and (b) the number of people claiming each benefit from 1991/92 to 2015/16. 41 p.Found: the figures cover all relevant benefits, as follows: Bereavement Benefits include Widows' Benefits; Carer's
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who claimed Carer's Allowance were caring for someone in receipt of a Personal Independence Payment in the past 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.
Mar. 04 2008
Source Page: Table showing working age and pensioner client groups, by statistical group and % of adult population in Cornwall, the South West and England, for each year from 2002 to 2007Found: ;Incapacity Benefits: claimant on Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance;Lone Parent: claimant
Nov. 26 2008
Source Page: Table showing total number of benefit claimants for each year from 1997 to 2008, broken down by client group. 6 p.Found: ;Incapacity Benefits: claimant on Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance;Lone Parent: claimant
Asked by:
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the introduction and operation of Carer Support Payment, whether it has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to prevent the accumulation of debt among carers in receipt of Carer's Allowance in Scotland due to (a) delayed investigation and (b) non-investigation of overpayment alerts.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
We have taken on board lessons from Carer’s Allowance in designing Carer Support Payment to better prevent overpayments. Information on earnings rules and when to report changes are much clearer. We are making better use of the ability to average out carers’ earnings, and using data from HMRC and scheduled reviews for self-employed carers to check and track carers’ earnings. Our systems use automated decision making for the most straightforward applications, allowing more time and resource to focus on complex cases and earnings processes. We pay Carer Support Payment four weekly in arrears as standard, reducing the potential for overpayments by allowing more time for a change of circumstances to be reported and reflected in a carer’s award. As part of the case transfer process, we also have processes in place to check earnings once carer’s awards are in payment to reduce the risk of inheriting existing overpayments. We are continuing to take feedback from carers and stakeholders to consider how we can continue to improve our earnings processes.
Aug. 05 2009
Source Page: Table showing Working age Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance/Income Support claimants by statistical group for London local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, as at August 2008. 10 p.Found: Table showing Working age Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance/Income Support claimants by
Aug. 15 2023
Source Page: Carer's Allowance Supplement, April eligibility date 2023 and Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance and Severe Disablement Allowance at February 2023: statisticsFound: Carer's Allowance Supplement, April eligibility date 2023 and Carer’s Allowance, Disability Living Allowance
Mar. 21 2024
Source Page: Family Resources Survey Transformation: integrating administrative data into the FRSFound: These benefits include Universal Credit, Job Seeker's Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income