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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Patrick Butler Social policy editor

Government considering compensation for victims of carer’s allowance scandal

Composite image of carers
Some unpaid carers face life-changing bills after accidentally breaching earnings rules by a few pence a week. Composite: Guardian Design/Getty Images

The government is considering compensation payouts for unpaid carers who have been unfairly hit with huge financial repayments in recent years after inadvertently falling foul of harsh carer’s allowance benefit rules.

Ministers vowed to fix problems with the benefit after a Guardian investigation revealed how draconian penalties coupled with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administrative failures had plunged hundreds of thousands of carers into debt.

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