Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people received fines for overpayment of Carer's Allowance in (a) 2020, (b) 2021, (c) 2022, (d) 2023 and (e) as of 1 April 2024; and what was the total amount of these fines.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Claimants have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits they claim and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their award.
Overpayments occur when an individual receives a payment they are not entitled to. The fines imposed by DWP for overpayments vary depending on the circumstances of the overpayment.
Administrative Penalties may be offered by the fraud investigator as an alternative to a prosecution in certain cases where there has been benefit fraud or attempted benefit fraud.
The table below provides the volume and value of Administrative Penalties accepted due to an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance, by financial year.
Financial Years | Volume of Administrative Penalties | Value |
2020/21 | 64 | £114.4k |
2021/22 | 43 | £80.2k |
2022/23 | 43 | £81.3k |
2023/24 | 75 | £140.8k |
For cases of claimant error, a £50 Civil Penalty may be imposed by DWP where an individual incurs an overpayment as a result of failing to provide accurate information and have not taken reasonable steps to correct the error.
The table below provides the volume and value of Civil Penalties given due to an overpayment of Carer’s Allowance, by financial year.
Financial Years | Volume of Civil Penalties | Value |
2020/21 | 14.9k | £0.747m |
2021/22 | 26.3k | £1.309m |
2022/23 | 24.8k | £1.241m |
2023/24 | 30.1k | £1.506m |
Note that our latest figures show there are approximately 1.4 million people claiming Carer’s Allowance.
The data provided for this response is for the volume of penalties, and it is important to note that individuals can receive more than one penalty.
Data been sourced from internal DWP management information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business. It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance checks applied to our published official statistics. Our analysis has not captured a small but unknown number of penalties that are logged as debts in their own right on the debt MI system. Our understanding is that this approach is rarely used for Carer’s Allowance.
More information about DWP penalties policy can be found here: Penalties policy: in respect of social security fraud and error - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of waiting times to speak to the Disability Service Centre.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Telephony is our customers’ primary channel to contact us. We continually assess the number of calls we are receiving and the associated waiting times, deploying resources accordingly to support service levels wherever this is possible.
However, due to recent higher volumes of calls than forecast, from the 24th of April and throughout May, we are deploying dedicated telephony specific resource to the Personal Independent Payment telephony lines which will give better support when dealing with sudden increases in traffic.
Asked by: Jonathan Gullis (Conservative - Stoke-on-Trent North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what (a) restrictions and (b) guidance are in place for landlords renting out properties to immediate family members and receiving (i) housing benefit and (ii) universal credit for that property.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
To be eligible for support with housing costs in Housing Benefit and Universal Credit, claimants must be liable for making payment of rent on a commercial basis. A claimant can receive support with housing costs if that test is satisfied and liability is to a close relative, but only where that relative does not live in the same property as the claimant.
Guidance setting this out is available on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Tahir Ali (Labour - Birmingham, Hall Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help people claim each benefit to which they are entitled.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) provides information on eligibility and how to make a claim for benefits, including signposting to telephony routes (including textphone and Relay UK) for people who are unable to complete forms online. There are videos on the DWP YouTube channel that provide further information on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment, Universal Credit, Winter Fuel Payment, Pension Credit and DLA for Children and these explain how to claim and what to expect once a claim has been made.
Guidance on GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) includes information on benefits people may be able to claim and other financial support. This includes housing support, help with council tax and direct payments for social care. Where appropriate DWP letters include signposting to additional help and support.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill on the (a) physical and (b) mental wellbeing of people with (i) M.E. and (ii) other chronic diseases.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department has assessed the impact of the third-party data measure in the regulatory impact assessment scrutinised and green-rated by the Regulatory Policy Committee. This was published on the 27th November 2023 as part of the supporting documentation for the Data Protection and Information Bill and is available here: Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: supporting documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The department has fulfilled all the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and in line with our statutory duty keeps the impact of this measure on groups with protected characteristics under continuous review.
In 22/23, DWP overpaid over £8bn due to fraud and error. This is unacceptable and we are taking robust steps to tackle this.
The third party data legislation we are seeking is one such approach. The focus of this power will be about finding signals of potential benefit fraud and error.
The measure does not target a particular group of benefit claimant and we have tried and tested safeguarding procedures to protect vulnerable groups and will follow business as usual processes.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support young carers in full-time education to access financial support.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department is determined that all young carers get the support they need to succeed.
The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in further education. This includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education, such as travel, books, equipment and trips, plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.
In the 2023/24 academic year, over £160 million of bursary funding has been allocated to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with the costs of taking part in education. This is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for last year. The department also made available around £20 million each year specifically to support students in defined vulnerable groups, for example those in care, care leavers and those supporting themselves in receipt of certain social security funds or benefits.
Institutions decide which young people receive bursaries and determine the level of financial support they receive. Institutions develop their own eligibility criteria for access to the discretionary bursary fund, including setting a household income threshold appropriate to their area and must publish information on this for students.
The intention of the vulnerable group bursaries is to help young people who are in a particularly vulnerable situation and unlikely to be receiving financial assistance from parents or carers. These bursaries provide up to £1,200 to eligible young people to help meet the costs of participating in education that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Young people who are living at home and financially supported by parents or carers are not considered eligible to receive a vulnerable group bursary. Students who do not meet the criteria for bursaries for vulnerable groups may be eligible to apply for funding from the discretionary bursary fund and should approach their education institution for further advice.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March 2024 to Question 19150, which (a) loans and (b) grants young carers are entitled to.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in further education. This includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education, such as travel, books, equipment, and trips, plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.
Over £160 million of bursary funding has been allocated in the 2023/24 academic year to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with the costs of taking part in education, which is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for last year. The department has also made available £20 million each year specifically to support students in defined vulnerable groups, such as those in care, care leavers and those supporting themselves in receipt of certain social security funds or benefits.
Institutions decide which young people receive bursaries and determine the level of financial support they receive. They develop their own eligibility criteria for access to the discretionary bursary fund, including setting a household income threshold appropriate to their area, and must publish information on this for students.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will assess the potential merits of extending the eligibility criteria for students in vulnerable groups in the 16 to 19 bursary fund to include young carers.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The department is determined that all young carers get the support they need to succeed.
The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in further education. This includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education, such as travel, books, equipment and trips, plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.
In the 2023/24 academic year, over £160 million of bursary funding has been allocated to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with the costs of taking part in education. This is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for last year. The department also made available around £20 million each year specifically to support students in defined vulnerable groups, for example those in care, care leavers and those supporting themselves in receipt of certain social security funds or benefits.
Institutions decide which young people receive bursaries and determine the level of financial support they receive. Institutions develop their own eligibility criteria for access to the discretionary bursary fund, including setting a household income threshold appropriate to their area and must publish information on this for students.
The intention of the vulnerable group bursaries is to help young people who are in a particularly vulnerable situation and unlikely to be receiving financial assistance from parents or carers. These bursaries provide up to £1,200 to eligible young people to help meet the costs of participating in education that they would not otherwise be able to afford. Young people who are living at home and financially supported by parents or carers are not considered eligible to receive a vulnerable group bursary. Students who do not meet the criteria for bursaries for vulnerable groups may be eligible to apply for funding from the discretionary bursary fund and should approach their education institution for further advice.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the Carer’s Allowance to £93 per week.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government continues to protect the value of benefits paid to carers whilst also spending record amounts in real terms.
The level of Carer’s Allowance is protected by uprating it each April in line with inflation as measured by the CPI for the previous September. The purpose of benefit uprating is to ensure that the value of benefits stays in line with the general level of prices. From April 2024, the Carer’s Allowance payment was increased to £81.90. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £81.90 a week, providing an additional £1,500 a year for carers.
Real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance in 2024/25 is forecast to be £4.1 billion. Between 2024/25 and 2028/29 real terms expenditure on Carer’s Allowance is forecast to rise by 12% - around £500 million. By 2028/29, the Government is forecast to spend just over £4.5 billion a year on Carer’s Allowance.
As well as Carer’s Allowance, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits. For example, carers on Universal Credit can receive around an additional £2,400 a year through the Carer Element.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of awarding Carer’s Allowance to unpaid carers between the ages of 16-18 that are studying (a) 21 hours and (b) more than 21 hours per week.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by all informal carers.
We think it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, rather than the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits, including Carer’s Allowance. Part-time students may be able to claim Carer’s Allowance though. This reflects long-standing principles of the benefit system and we have no plans to change these rules.
Department for Work and Pensions officials work very closely with their Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care counterparts to ensure that young carers get the help and support they need.