The Government requires unpaid carers to pay back more than £250m after thousands were unknowingly overpaid their allowance.
Paul Maynard MP from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last week confirmed that 134,800 people had a total outstanding Carers Allowance debt of £251m.
Unpaid carers who care for someone for more than 35 hours a week are entitled to receive the allowance.
However, they are only eligible if their earnings fall under the £151-a-week earnings limit.
Responding to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Sir Stephen Timms, Mr Maynard MP said that women make up most Carer’s Allowance claims.
There are currently 42,800 (32%) males, 91,900 (68%) females and 100 (less than 1%) not identified, with an outstanding Carers Allowance debt.
As of November 2023, there were over 991,000 people in receipt of Carers Allowance, nearly three quarters of whom are female.
A campaign by activists recently forced the DWP to publish a report on the experience of those claiming the Carers Allowance.
It found those who were forced to repay an overpayment could face 'financial difficulties' as well as 'worry and a sense of unfairness.'
