Vocal critic of carer’s allowance scandal to oversee the benefit as minister

As chair of the cross-party work and pensions select committee, Stephen Timms led calls to fix flaws in the carer’s allowance system. Photograph: Christian Sinibaldi/The Guardian

The Labour MP Stephen Timms, a vocal critic of the carer’s allowance scandal that has led to thousands of unpaid carers being plunged into debt and threatened with prosecution, has been given ministerial responsibility for the issue.

Widespread public outrage followed Guardian revelations earlier this year that tens of thousands of carers had been forced to repay huge sums after inadvertently breaching the carer’s allowance earnings rules, often by just a few pounds, prompting comparisons with the Post Office scandal.