Government considering compensation for victims of carer’s allowance scandal

Exclusive: Ministers have vowed to fix benefit after Guardian revealed thousands had been plunged into debt for accidentally breaking rules

The government is considering compensation payouts for unpaid carers who have been unfairly hit with huge financial repayments in recent years after inadvertently falling foul of harsh carer's allowance benefit rules.

Ministers vowed to fix problems with the benefit after a Guardian investigation revealed how draconian penalties coupled with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administrative failures had plunged hundreds of thousands of carers into debt.