Parents caring for seriously ill children in UK could get financial support under ‘Hugh’s law’

Posted on June 9, 2026 by Admin

Proposals considered by government would strengthen protections for parents forced to become full-time carers

Thousands of parents who are forced to become full-time carers after their child becomes seriously ill would be entitled to financial support and job protections under new “Hugh’s law” proposals being floated by the government.

Hugh’s law is named after Hugh Menai-Davis, who was six when he died in 2021 just under a year after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and undergoing 10 months of intensive treatment, much of it in hospital.

DWP pursued woman’s employer for nonexistent ‘benefit debt’

Posted on May 20, 2026 by Admin

Exclusive: Employer of woman who cares for disabled mother was asked to deduct ‘debt’ from salary despite court ruling she had nothing to pay

A woman providing full-time unpaid care for her elderly disabled mother says her job was put in jeopardy after welfare officials wrongly pursued her employer for a nonexistent “benefit debt” quashed by the courts nearly four years ago.

The 44-year-old woman said she was staggered when the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) wrote to her employer out of the blue this month demanding they deduct the long-forgotten universal credit overpayment “debt” from her salary.

Thousands of unpaid carers to face DWP repayment demands during overhaul

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Admin

Ministers admit carer’s allowance penalties will continue while review of more than 200,000 cases is carried out

Thousands of unpaid carers will continue to be hit with hefty and potentially unfair benefit repayment demands, it has emerged, as a government initiative gets under way to fix welfare injustices that have drawn comparison to the Post Office scandal.

Ministers will on Monday launch an audit of more than 200,000 historical carer’s allowance benefit cases, with an estimated 25,000 carers issued with unlawful overpayments since 2015 likely to see their repayment debts cancelled or reduced as a result.

Ministers urged to overhaul and raise carer’s allowance

Posted on July 16, 2025 by Admin

Resolution Foundation says unpaid carers on low incomes pay ‘very heavy price’ for looking after loved ones

The carer’s allowance benefit should be overhauled and the basic rate of payment increased to lift more unpaid carers and disabled people out of financial hardship, according to a living standards thinktank.

The Resolution Foundation said unpaid carers on low incomes were paying a “very heavy price” – a typical penalty of 10% or as much as £7,000 a year compared with non-carers – for looking after loved ones full-time.

Ministers urged to act as thousands more hit by UK carer’s allowance debts

Posted on March 21, 2025 by Admin

Latest overpayment figures bring total number falling foul of ‘cliff-edge’ rules on earnings to 144,000

More than 9,000 unpaid carers looking after ill and disabled loved ones have become the latest to be hit with carer’s allowance overpayment debts in the past year, prompting calls for ministers to suspend the controversial practice.

While the government has promised to tackle the carer’s allowance scandal and launched a review, the latest figures show carers continue to be unwittingly caught by the system, landing them with debts often running into thousands of pounds.

Mother had carer’s allowance stopped while with disabled daughter in hospital

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Admin

Rachel Adam-Smith says stopping benefits when loved ones are in hospital fails to recognise carers’ ongoing role

The mother of a severely disabled young woman was left in financial hardship after her carer’s allowance was wrongly stopped while her daughter was seriously ill in hospital.

Rachel Adam-Smith, 48, spent five weeks in hospital alongside her 22-year-old daughter who was being treated for severe gastrointestinal issues last month.

Fixing UK social care will be biggest challenge yet for Louise Casey

Posted on January 2, 2025 by Admin

Troubleshooter for four previous prime ministers is charged with saving troubled national care sector

She is the no-nonsense civil servant from Portsmouth who was called upon by four prime ministers to tackle deep-rooted social issues, including rough sleeping, antisocial behaviour, victims’ rights and troubled families.

Now Louise Casey has been tasked by a fifth to chair an independent commission into adult social care. Her mission? Develop a plan to save the sector.

Labour to set up review after carer’s allowance overpayments scandal

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Admin

Exclusive: overhaul of system that imposed draconian penalties for innocent and minor errors in benefit claims is expected

Draconian penalties levied on unpaid carers who unwittingly rack up “overpayments” running into thousands of pounds after falling foul of benefit rules are to be overhauled, the Guardian understands.

The move comes six months after a Guardian investigation revealed tens of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers were being ordered to repay hefty overpayments – and even threatened with criminal prosecution – over minor breaches of earnings rules.

Which benefits are available to vulnerable people under Labour?

Posted on August 23, 2024 by Admin

As the winter fuel allowance is scrapped for many pensioners, we outline some other key benefits

• Millions facing ‘cruel winter’ without fuel payments, Labour MPs warn

Labour backbenchers are warning that millions of vulnerable people will face a “cruel winter” amid rising energy prices and a reduction in benefits, including the removal of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.

Keir Starmer’s government has promised to improve conditions for those most in need, with a commitment to “reduce and alleviate” child poverty and end the “moral scar” of food banks. And while Labour sees economic growth and creating more reliable and well-paid jobs as crucial to achieving these aims, it cannot ignore a number of pressing and often interrelated problems in the social security and benefits system.

Winter fuel payments to be restricted as Reeves says there is £22bn spending shortfall – UK politics live

Posted on July 29, 2024 by Admin

Chancellor suggests budget, on 30 October, will involve tax rises and cuts to spending and benefits

Downing Street has refused to comment on a report saying junior doctors are being offered a pay rise worth about 20% over two years.

In a story for the Times, Steven Swinford reports:

The British Medical Association’s (BMA) junior doctors committee has recommended an offer that includes a backdated pay rise of 4.05 per cent for 2023-24, on top of an existing increase of between 8.8 per cent and 10.3 per cent.

Junior doctors will be given a further pay rise of 6 per cent for 2024-25, which will be topped up by a consolidated £1,000 payment. This is equivalent to a pay rise of between 7 per cent and 9 per cent.

As we’ve said before, we’re committed to working to find a solution, resolving this dispute, but I can’t get into detailed running commentary on negotiations.

We’ve been honest with the public and the sector about the economic circumstances we face. But the government is determined to do the hard work necessary to finally bring these strikes to an end.

Unpaid UK carers ‘face financial hit that can last decades’

Posted on June 29, 2024 by Admin

Loss of income, curbs on benefits and soaring bills are piling pressure on people caring for family members

People who look after family members free of charge are taking a huge hit to their finances which could continue into their retirement as they find themselves unable to balance paid work with their caring commitments.

Recent analysis of official figures by the financial firm Just Retirement found seven in 10 people who were receiving carer’s allowance were not in paid work, and missing out on earnings and private pension contributions.