Latest news with #EmilyHolzhausen
The Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Warning for tens of thousands on benefits being forced to repay up to £20k due to DWP error
TENS of thousands on benefits are being forced to repay up to £20,000 due to DWP errors. Households on Carer's Allowance are having fork out huge sums after going over the benefit's weekly earnings limit. 1 The limit was previously £151 but was hiked to £196 in April - the biggest rise in almost 50 years. Anyone on the benefit that goes over this limit has to repay the amount they were overpaid. However, historic errors have seen the DWP fail to flag when carers have breached it. Now, new figures analysed by Carers UK and shared with The Guardian reveal at least £357million in Carer's Allowance benefit has been overpaid in error in the last six years. Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, told the publication carer's "deserve better" and that the charity had asked the government to strike off debts of those who have been forced to pay back money after breaching the earnings limit. Tens of thousands on Carer's Allowance have unwittingly breached the earnings limit since 2019. The year before, new technology called the verify earnings and pensions tool (VEP) was introduced by the government designed to allow the DWP to check thousands of electronic alerts of potential earnings breaches by those on Carer's Allowance each month. However, the DWP decided to only investigate half of all VEP alerts, meaning some breaches went undetected for long periods. This led to carers unknowingly racking up huge overpayments and having to repay thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds in overpaid benefits. One such case of someone having to pay back thousands of pounds was Vivienne Groom. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence In 2023, she was prosecuted for failing to declare her minimum wage Co-op job while caring for her mum, and forced to pay back £16,000. Last month, ministers confirmed they will invest £800,000 to ensure 100% of VEP alerts are reviewed moving forward, meaning overpayments are flagged earlier. A DWP spokesperson told The Guardian: "The Carer's Allowance overpayment rate is the lowest on record. "And we are going further by increasing funding and bringing in more staff to check 100% of alerts to help prevent carers falling into debt. 'We are absolutely clear that we want to eliminate waste and ensure people get the money they are entitled to, so we can invest in our public services as part of our plan for change." What to do if you breach the earnings limit If you have ever breached the earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances. You can report any change in circumstances online via the Government's website. But you'll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you're caring for and details of the change. If you have been overpaid Carer's Allowance, you will have to pay it back in full or instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform. This is also on the Government's website. If you don't do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary, or even pass your case on to a debt collector. If you don't engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts. You can dispute an overpayment if you don't agree with it, but you'll need evidence as to why you claim to not have overpaid. You can do this via what's known as a "mandatory reconsideration", which you can submit to the DWP online, via phone or by letter. The specific contact details you'll need to send any correspondence to will be on the decision letter you receive from the DWP. Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a "mandatory reconsideration notice" informing you whether it has changed its decision. If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision. Are you missing out on benefits? YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get. Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit. and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data. You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs. Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for. .
Scottish Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Warning for tens of thousands on benefits being forced to repay up to £20k due to DWP error
Scroll down to find out who is affected BENEFIT BLOW Warning for tens of thousands on benefits being forced to repay up to £20k due to DWP error Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TENS of thousands on benefits are being forced to repay up to £20,000 due to DWP errors. Households on Carer's Allowance are having fork out huge sums after going over the benefit's weekly earnings limit. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Thousands on Carer's Allowance have had to pay back money they were overpaid Credit: Alamy The limit was previously £151 but was hiked to £196 in April - the biggest rise in almost 50 years. Anyone on the benefit that goes over this limit has to repay the amount they were overpaid. However, historic errors have seen the DWP fail to flag when carers have breached it. Now, new figures analysed by Carers UK and shared with The Guardian reveal at least £357million in Carer's Allowance benefit has been overpaid in error in the last six years. Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, told the publication carer's "deserve better" and that the charity had asked the government to strike off debts of those who have been forced to pay back money after breaching the earnings limit. Tens of thousands on Carer's Allowance have unwittingly breached the earnings limit since 2019. The year before, new technology called the verify earnings and pensions tool (VEP) was introduced by the government designed to allow the DWP to check thousands of electronic alerts of potential earnings breaches by those on Carer's Allowance each month. However, the DWP decided to only investigate half of all VEP alerts, meaning some breaches went undetected for long periods. This led to carers unknowingly racking up huge overpayments and having to repay thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of pounds in overpaid benefits. One such case of someone having to pay back thousands of pounds was Vivienne Groom. Three key benefits that YOU could be missing out on, and one even gives you a free TV Licence In 2023, she was prosecuted for failing to declare her minimum wage Co-op job while caring for her mum, and forced to pay back £16,000. Last month, ministers confirmed they will invest £800,000 to ensure 100% of VEP alerts are reviewed moving forward, meaning overpayments are flagged earlier. A DWP spokesperson told The Guardian: "The Carer's Allowance overpayment rate is the lowest on record. "And we are going further by increasing funding and bringing in more staff to check 100% of alerts to help prevent carers falling into debt. 'We are absolutely clear that we want to eliminate waste and ensure people get the money they are entitled to, so we can invest in our public services as part of our plan for change." What to do if you breach the earnings limit If you have ever breached the earnings limit, you should try and proactively report it to the DWP as it is classed as a change in circumstances. You can report any change in circumstances online via the Government's website. But you'll need your National Insurance (NI) number to hand, details of the person you're caring for and details of the change. If you have been overpaid Carer's Allowance, you will have to pay it back in full or instalments via the DWP Debt Management platform. This is also on the Government's website. If you don't do this, the DWP can take deductions from your work salary, or even pass your case on to a debt collector. If you don't engage with the debt collector, it may then take your case to the county courts. You can dispute an overpayment if you don't agree with it, but you'll need evidence as to why you claim to not have overpaid. You can do this via what's known as a "mandatory reconsideration", which you can submit to the DWP online, via phone or by letter. The specific contact details you'll need to send any correspondence to will be on the decision letter you receive from the DWP. Once the DWP has received your mandatory reconsideration, you will receive a "mandatory reconsideration notice" informing you whether it has changed its decision. If you disagree with that outcome, you can appeal to the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal. A judge will listen to both sides of the argument before making a decision. Are you missing out on benefits? YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get. Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit. and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data. You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs. Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories
Business Mayor
19-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
At least £357m in carer's allowance paid out in error over past six years, charity finds
At least £357m in carer's allowance benefit was paid out in error over the past six years because of official failures, resulting in debt and misery being inflicted on tens of thousands of people. The bulk of the figure relates to minor breaches of earnings rules by carers that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was alerted to but did not check, allowing carers to run up huge overpayments over months and years. Carers UK, which used new official fraud and error data to calculate the £357m figure, described it as an unacceptable failure by the DWP, which years ago promised new technology would almost entirely eradicate carer's allowance overpayments. 'Given that unpaid carers were falsely assured that the problem would be largely resolved in 2019, they deserve better, and we've asked the government to strike off debts where they could have told carers sooner,' said Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carer's UK. Carer Guy Shahar, whose family is being pursued by the DWP for £10,000 in earnings overpayments , described the £357m figure as 'shocking'. He called for the sum to be written off given the department failed to stop the overpayments as promised. 'The DWP's negligence and failure to follow even its own low standards have led to this ridiculous situation that they promised to have sorted out years ago,' he added. 'They are making criminals out of the vulnerable families they are supposed to be helping, and piling unnecessary debt, hardship, anxiety and massive adversity on to them in order to avoid taking responsibility for their own failures. It would be much fairer to write the whole thing off.' A Guardian investigation into carer's allowance over the past year has detailed the horrific financial and emotional impact on carers of overpayments, but the latest figures also highlight the extent to which official failures meant huge amounts of taxpayers' money was needlessly wasted. Tens of thousands of carers have unwittingly fallen foul of earnings rules each year since the DWP permanent secretary Sir Peter Schofield promised MPs in 2019 that new technology would eradicate the problem by preventing overpayments 'in some cases before they happen'. The verify earnings and pensions tool, known as VEP, introduced in 2018, was meant to enable DWP to swiftly check thousands of electronic alerts of potential earnings breaches by carer's allowance claimants each month. However, the DWP decided as a matter of policy to only investigate half of all VEP alerts, meaning breaches could go unidentified for long periods. This led to carers unwittingly running up huge avoidable overpayments, and typically having to repay sums between £1,000 and £5,000 but in some cases as much as £20,000. In the five years after VEP was presented as a 'solution' to the problems of carer's allowance, more than 262,000 overpayments totalling in excess of £325m were clawed back from carers, and 600 carers were prosecuted and received criminal records, according to the National Audit Office. Ministers last month announced they would invest £800,000 to properly staff the carer's allowance section to enable 100% of VEP alerts to be reviewed. This would enable overpayments to be tackled 'when they arise' rather than 'waiting until carers have built up large debts'. Carers UK's calculations were based on fraud and error data published by the DWP last week. The DWP report claims VEP has helped the department reduce levels of fraud and overpayment on carer's allowance since they were last measured in 2020. A DWP spokesperson said: 'The carer's allowance overpayment rate is the lowest on record. And we are going further by increasing funding and bringing in more staff to check 100% of alerts to help prevent carers falling into debt. 'We are absolutely clear that we want to eliminate waste and ensure people get the money they are entitled to, so we can invest in our public services as part of our plan for change.'
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
At least £357m in carer's allowance paid out in error over past six years, charity finds
At least £357m in carer's allowance benefit was paid out in error over the past six years due to official failures, resulting in debt and misery being inflicted on hundreds of thousands of people. The bulk of the figure relates to minor breaches of earnings rules by carers which the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was alerted to but did not check, allowing carers to run up huge overpayments over months and years. Carer's UK, which used new official fraud and error data to calculate the £357m figure, described it as an unacceptable failure by the DWP, which had years ago promised new technology would almost entirely eradicate carer's allowance overpayments. 'Given that unpaid carers were falsely assured that the problem would be largely resolved in 2019, they deserve better, and we've asked the government to strike off debts where they could have told carers sooner,' said Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carer's UK. Carer Guy Shahar, whose family is being pursued by the DWP for £10,000 in earnings overpayments , described the £357m figure as 'shocking'. He called for the sum to be 'written off' given the department failed to stop the overpayments as promised. 'The DWP's negligence and failure to follow even its own low standards have led to this ridiculous situation that they promised to have sorted out years ago,' he added. 'They are making criminals out of the vulnerable families they are supposed to be helping, and piling unnecessary debt, hardship, anxiety and massive adversity on to them in order to avoid taking responsibility for their own failures. It would be much fairer to write the whole thing off.' A Guardian investigation into carer's allowance over the past year has detailed the horrific financial and emotional impact on carers of overpayments, but the latest figures also highlight the extent to which official failures meant huge amounts of taxpayers money was needlessly wasted. Tens of thousands of carers have unwittingly fallen foul of earnings rules each year since the DWP permanent secretary Sir Peter Schofield promised MPs in 2019 that new technology would eradicate the problem by preventing overpayments 'in some cases before they happen'. The verify earnings and pensions tool, known as VEP, introduced in 2018, was meant to enable DWP to swiftly check thousands of electronic alerts of potential earnings breaches by carer's allowance claimants each month. However, the DWP decided as a matter of policy to only investigate half of all VEP alerts, meaning breaches could go unidentified for long periods. This led to carers unwittingly running up huge avoidable overpayments, and typically having to repay sums between £1,000 and £5,000 but in some cases as high as £20,000. In the five years after VEP was presented as a 'solution' to the problems of carer's allowance, more than 262,000 overpayments totalling in excess of £325m were clawed back from carers, and 600 carers were prosecuted and received criminal records, according to the National Audit Office. Ministers last month announced they would invest £800,000 to properly staff the carer's allowance section to enable 100% of VEP alerts to be reviewed. This would enable overpayments to be tackled 'when they arise' rather than 'waiting until carers have built up large debts'. Carers UK's calculations were based on fraud and error data published by the DWP last week. The DWP report claims VEP has helped the department reduce levels of fraud and overpayment on carer's allowance since they were last measured in 2020. A DWP spokesperson said: 'The carer's allowance overpayment rate is the lowest on record. And we are going further by increasing funding and bringing in more staff to check 100% of alerts to help prevent carers falling into debt. 'We are absolutely clear that we want to eliminate waste and ensure people get the money they are entitled to, so we can invest in our public services as part of our plan for change.'
