Day: April 8, 2024

UK News: DWP is forcing tens of thousands of people looking after relatives to repay huge sums after buildup of erroneous overpayments

* Analysis: Why are so many carers being taken to court?
* Explainer: Who are the unpaid carers?

Tens of thousands of unpaid carers looking after disabled, frail or ill relatives are being forced to repay huge sums to the government and threatened with criminal prosecution after unwittingly breaching earnings rules by just a few pounds a week.

People who claim the £81.90-a-week carer’s allowance for looking after loved ones while working part-timeare being forced by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to pay back money that have been erroneously overpaid to them, in some cases running to more than £20,000, or risk going to prison. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T5F557

Claim which relies on opaque calculations and more people using private healthcare ignores financial cost of climate crisis, campaigners say

The Reform UK party has been accused by green campaigners of trying to “weaponise” the climate crisis as a wedge issue in the general election after the party leader claimed funding the NHS and reaching net zero were at odds.

At a press conference in Westminster on Monday, Reform UK’s leader, Richard Tice, suggested that scrapping the UK’s pledge to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 would free up cash for the NHS. Continue reading…
http://dlvr.it/T5F4bV