Committee publication · Correspondence · 18 March 2026
Correspondence with the Minister for Social Security and Disability, relating to Carers Allowance
Summary
The Work and Pensions Committee writes to the Minister for Social Security and Disability expressing concern that DWP's implementation of the Sayce Review recommendations on Carers Allowance overpayments contradicts ministerial rhetoric. The Committee criticises the Department's failure to pause recovery action based on discredited guidance while awaiting reassessment, lack of transparency about continued demands, communication failures, and questions the cost-benefit of pursuing cases later cancelled. Five specific questions are posed seeking clarification on delays and accountability.
Key findings
- The Committee welcomes the Sayce Review and Government Response direction but finds implementation undermined by lack of shared vision among DWP officials and communication failures.
- DWP continued pursuing recovery demands based on unlawful and discredited guidance while carers awaited the announced reassessment exercise, causing distress that could have been avoided under new guidance.
- The Department did not make explicit in the Sayce Review response that it intended to continue 'business-as-usual' demand activity, contradicting claims of being 'clear' on this matter.
- The Committee questions whether DWP conducted cost-benefit analysis on continuing demands that may subsequently require cancellation or reduction versus pausing for reassessment.
- The Committee views this as part of a pattern of departmental missteps and signals it will scrutinise DWP's performance and culture, considering what further action to take on Carers Allowance.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Debbie Abrahams MP, Stephen Timms MP, Helen Walker, Liz Sayce, Department for Work and Pensions, Carer's UK, The Guardian
Notable line
“The actions of the Department flies in the face of the rhetoric that "The legacy of the Independent Review will ensure that carers' voices and concerns are heard and addressed through our policies".”
Key Quotes
“At a time when wider reforms to the system were approaching, these cases could have been considered under the new guidance rather than progressed under the previous guidance that had already been recognised as problematic.”
“We have been clear that the Sayce review into earnings related Carer's Allowance overpayments was not a substitute for legal proceedings.”
“We reject the assertion that DWP has been clear on this. It would have been clear if the intention to continue to make demands was set out in the response to the Sayce review.”
“This would also raise significant doubts about the seriousness with which it also deals with the broader issue of safeguarding vulnerable claimants …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗