Hundreds of thousands hit by ruinous carer’s allowance penalties, audit shows

Campaigners say NAO report shows impact of DWP staffing decisions and failure to address flaws in benefit’s design

Hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers were hit with ruinous penalties for minor breaches of carer’s allowance rules in the five years after senior welfare officials promised to fix the scandal-hit benefit, an official audit has revealed.

Campaigners said the National Audit Office (NAO) report highlighted the scale of the misery and hardship inflicted on carers over the period as well as the extent of the failure by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to tackle overpayments.