Elizabeth Tait, an unpaid carer for her son Oliver, 20, who has Down’s syndrome, was told she owed money to the DWP after she accidentally breached the earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance
A mother who was forced to repay more than £1,600 to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has slammed “cruel” plans to “snoop” on bank accounts.
Elizabeth Tait, an unpaid carer from Thames Ditton in Surrey, was told she owed money to the DWP after she accidentally breached the “confusing” earnings limit for Carer’s Allowance. The 59-year-old looks after her son Oliver, 20, who has Down’s syndrome, and works part-time as a supply teacher.
You’re allowed to work while claiming Carer’s Allowance – but there is an earnings limit of just £151 a week after tax, National Insurance, pension contributions and allowable expenses. If your earnings go over the limit – even by just £1 – you lose your entire entitlement to Carer’s Allowance.
Ms Tait spoke to iNews after it was revealed DWP benefit fraud investigators will be given new powers to take money directly from bank accounts or payslips. Under current rules, investigators need a court order before they can deduct money from someone’s wages or bank accounts.
But new measures that will make it easier for them to recoup money from benefit fraudsters are expected to be included in the new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill, according to the Sunday Telegraph. Ms Tait said: “I think disabled people should be exempt from this because the assessment process to make claims is already so robust. To snoop on disabled people would be cruel.”
Investigators will also be given the ability to access information about suspected fraudsters from all private companies, not just banks, utilities and employers – but the new rules will not extend to the state pension. The DWP is looking to save £1.6billion over the next five years as part of a new crackdown on benefit cheats.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall dismissed claims that the Government would be “snooping” on bank accounts and insisted there would be human oversight of automated alerts flagging potential fraud. The Government previously said the DWP itself will not have access to bank accounts and the data it receives will not be shared with third parties.
It comes after the DWP last week announced a new review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments following a series of reports into some people being left owing thousands of pounds – and sometimes even with a criminal record for benefit fraud.
Carers say the rules for how much you earn can be confusing – particularly if your hours change, or your pay increases. There have also been questions raised about why carers aren’t alerted when they go over the earnings threshold. The DWP argues that it is down to claimants to report a change of circumstances.
