DWP chief accused of overseeing ‘culture of complacency’ that led to carer’s allowance scandal

Commons committee chair says DWP repeatedly failed to prioritise the vulnerable and was slow to fix errors

The government's most senior welfare official has been accused of presiding over a culture of complacency" that led to thousands of unpaid carers inadvertently running up huge benefit debts.

Debbie Abrahams, the chair of the work and pensions select committee, said the Department for Work and Pensions had repeatedly failed to prioritise vulnerable people, was unwilling to learn from its mistakes, and slow to fix errors.