Wrongly penalised and even charged with fraud: compensate carers affected by unjust law 

NOVEMBER 2nd, 2026

A recent Guardian investigation revealed that hundreds of thousands of carers have, through no fault of their own, run up life-changing debts in recent years after overstepping weekly earnings thresholds by just a few pence.

The chancellor, John Healey, announced a new digital taper system for carer’s allowance in the recent budget, effectively ending what is regarded as one of the UK benefit system’s most feared and unfair administrative practices.

Those hefty debts were then ruthlessly chased down by welfare officials who pursued carers using legislation designed to recover funds from drug dealers and organised crime bosses. Some unpaid carers were convicted of fraud as a result. The Department of Works and Pensions were aware of the problem and did not take action to alert carers but instead demanded thousands of pounds be re-paid and instigated criminal proceedings which resulted in some carers receiving prison sentences and criminal records.

While it is good news for carers that the government is removing the cliff edge, they must acknowledge the detrimental impact that the problem had on those who are saving the government billions each year by caring for vulnerable and ill family members, £86 per week is hardly a king’s ransom and to take the total allowance because carers earned a few pennies over the limit, is not only outrageous but cruel.

Minimum Wage for Young Workers

In addition to ending this scandal by compensating the carers , the government has a duty to implement the promised raise in the minimum wage for young people. So far, they have not kept this promise because they fear that many employers may cease to employ young people. That’s one way of looking at it; the old fear monegering tale that workers will spoil everything by asking employers for too much. It is more likely that the government realises that employers are afraid of losing their cheap pool of labour and a decrease in profits accumulated on the backs of young working-class people.

The brazen underpayment of workers of any age should never be tolerated, and workers should be united in building a socialist society that ensures the profits of their labour is distributed for the benefit of those who produce the wealth, i.e., the workers.