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100317

	registered interest
	date	22/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to link an increase of the earnings threshold for carer's allowance to the rise in the National Minimum Wage.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	211436
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2014 answer text <p>The earnings threshold in Carer’s Allowance is regularly reviewed. It is designed to enable carers to maintain a link with the labour market and achieve greater financial independence. It is increased periodically, most recently from £100 to £102 on 20 May 2014.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 29/10/2014 17:42:37 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1007889

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of making carer's allowance available to (a) pensioners and (b) students in full-time education.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	191917
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>The Government recognises and appreciates the vital contribution made by informal carers who provide invaluable support for relatives, partners, friends and neighbours who may be ill, frail or disabled. We are already supporting carers in a number of ways, including through the benefit system. Since 2010 the rate of Carer’s Allowance (CA) has increased from £53.90 to £64.60 a week, meaning an additional £550 a year for carers. By 2022/23 we are forecast to spend £3.7bn a year on CA, a real terms increase of more than a third since 2016/17.</p><p> </p><p>Access to CA for pensioners and full-time students reflect long-standing principles of the benefit system and we have no plans to change the rules.</p><p> </p><p>Although there is no age limit to claiming CA, it cannot normally be paid with the State Pension. CA replaces income where the carer has given up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to care for a severely disabled person, while State Pension replaces income in retirement. For this reason, social security rules operate to prevent them being paid together, to avoid duplicate provision for the same need. However, if a carer’s State Pension is less than CA, State Pension is paid and topped up with CA to the basic weekly rate of CA. Where CA cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to the benefit. This gives access to the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit of £36.00 a week, and even if a pensioner’s income is above the limit for Pension Credit, he or she may still be able to receive Housing Benefit.</p><p>The Government thinks it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, and not the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits. Part-time students may be able to claim CA though.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 20/11/2018 17:52:21 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

102078

	registered interest
	date	31/10/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will raise the carer's allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	212851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The level of Carer’s Allowance is considered by the Secretary of State as part of the annual benefit uprating process. The benefit rates for 2015 will be announced in December and will come in to force from April next year.</p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 05/11/2014 14:46:39 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1022835

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the merits of introducing a taper for claimants of carers allowance once the claimant has reached the earnings threshold.
	tabling member constituency	Battersea
	tabling member printed	Marsha De Cordova
	uin	200670
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2018 answer text <p>This is an issue that we have looked at closely, particularly in the light of recommendations from the Work and Pensions Select Committee in their report on employment support for carers and support for a taper from other stakeholders.</p><p> </p><p>Carer’s Allowance (CA) is not a means-tested benefit and its primary purpose is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person.</p><p> </p><p>The purpose that the weekly earnings limit serves in CA is very different to that of a taper – it is essentially there to provide a test of whether the carer is in “gainful employment” and, therefore, eligible for CA. Tapers are designed to make sure that work pays in means tested benefits, and already work well for those carers also claiming Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>A cost neutral taper would need to begin at a level lower than the current earnings limit. We are concerned that introducing a cost neutral taper, effectively reducing the amount of CA for some, would introduce a disincentive to work for some of those carers with the lowest incomes, as well as significantly complicating the current CA scheme (for example, we would need to put arrangements in place to manually collect details of weekly earnings and adjust CA awards accordingly).</p><p> </p><p>In view of the recent focus on overpayments of CA, it is worth noting that a cost neutral taper would mean more carers would have to report changes of earnings more frequently, thus presenting fresh challenges in terms of making correct payments. For these reasons, we are not in favour of introducing a taper in CA. We will, of course, continue to keep the earnings rules in CA under review to ensure they are meeting their objectives.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 18/12/2018 14:49:11 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4676 label Biography information for Marsha De Cordova

1023052

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2018 to Question 191917 on Carer's Allowance, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of (a) pensioners and (b) students in full-time education who have taken on significant caring responsibilities.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	200653
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>The data that the Department uses with regards to informal carers is from the Family Resources Survey. The latest Family Resources Survey data is for 2016/17. This report and the carers data tables can be found at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-201617" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-201617</a></p><p> </p><p>There were an estimated 5.4 million informal carers in the United Kingdom in 2016/17 available on “Table 5.1: Percentage of people providing informal care by gender, 2006/07 to 2016/17, United Kingdom”.</p><p> </p><p>10 per cent of people aged 65+ reported providing informal care. Further age splits are available on “Table 5.2: Percentage of people providing informal care by age and gender, 2016/17, United Kingdom”.</p><p>The FRS data on people providing informal care is self-reported by FRS respondents.</p><p>This data is for all informal carers aged 65+, we have not made an assumption regarding what constitutes ‘significant’ caring responsibilities.</p><p> </p><p>On “Table 5.4: Adult informal carers by employment status and gender, 2016/17, United Kingdom”, 1 per cent of all adult informal carers are classed as being a student, by their employment status.</p><p>The FRS data on people providing informal care is self-reported by FRS respondents.</p><p>This data is for all adult informal carers, we have not made an assumption regarding what constitutes ‘significant’ caring responsibilities.</p><p>This data is not specifically for students in full-time education and may include students on sandwich courses. 2 per cent of all adults are classed as being students. The FRS uses the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of employment status and defines a student as a subcategory of Economically Inactive. By ILO definition, a full-time student that works more than an hour a week would be classed as employed.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 13/12/2018 14:16:06 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1054632

	registered interest
	date	04/02/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 203813, how many people applied for carer’s allowance in relation to personal independence payment claimants who died after registering but prior to her Department making a decision on their claim.
	tabling member constituency	Bridgend
	tabling member printed	Mrs Madeleine Moon
	uin	216178
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2019 answer text <p>We do not hold administrative data where we could identify people who had applied for Carer’s Allowance in relation to caring for a person who had registered for Personal Independence Payment who died after registering but prior to the Department making a decision on the claim.</p> answering member constituency Truro and Falmouth answering member printed Sarah Newton question first answered 11/02/2019 15:47:07 answering member 4071 label Biography information for Sarah Newton
	tabling member	1490 label Biography information for Mrs Madeleine Moon

1111247

	registered interest
	date	10/04/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason Carers' Allowance is not paid to people that have reached state pensionable age.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Darren Jones
	uin	243551
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2019 answer text <p>There is no upper age limit to claiming Carer’s Allowance, but it cannot normally be paid with the State Pension. Carer’s Allowance provides a measure of replacement income where the duties of caring for a severely disabled person limit the prospect of full-time work and the earnings it would yield. State Pension provides a replacement income in retirement.</p><p>It is a long-standing and basic principle of the social security system that only one benefit at a time can be paid for the same purpose. Even though the circumstances which give rise to entitlement to Carer’s Allowance and State Pension are different, they are both designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or foregone income.</p><p>The overlapping benefits rules, which prevent both benefits being paid, were established to reflect the general principle that flat-rate benefits designed to help with income maintenance e.g. Carer’s Allowance and State Pension, should not be added together and paid in full, even though a person may qualify for both. However, if a carer’s State Pension is less than Carer's Allowance, State Pension is paid and topped up with Carer's Allowance to the basic weekly rate of Carer's Allowance which, from April 2019, increased to £66.15.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/04/2019 15:26:11 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones

1132523

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, why recipients of carer's allowance with adult dependants are not eligible for (a) child tax credits and (b) working tax credits; and if he will review his policy.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	265548
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/06/2019 answer text <p>Carer’s Allowance is a taxable benefit, paid to an eligible individual looking after someone with substantial caring needs. Persons in receipt of Carer’s Allowance are not excluded from either Child Tax Credit (CTC) or Working Tax Credit (WTC) provided they meet the usual conditions of entitlement for tax credits.</p> answering member constituency South West Norfolk answering member printed Elizabeth Truss question first answered 20/06/2019 13:32:00 answering member 4097 label Biography information for Elizabeth Truss
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1137548

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the carer's allowance and for it to be paid for each person the carer is responsible for.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	274466
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/07/2019 answer text <p>The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person. It is not, and was never intended to be, a carer’s wage or a payment for the services of caring. It is also not intended to replace lost or forgone earnings in their entirety.</p><p> </p><p>A National Insurance Class 1 credit is generally awarded for each week that Carer’s Allowance is paid to a working age carer. Class 1 credits can help towards the conditions of entitlement to all contributory benefits, as well as the new State Pension. In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the invaluable contribution that unpaid and family carers make in all our communities, and is committed to doing more to support them. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) published a Carers Action Plan in June 2018 setting out plans around support for carers, and in addition to this, carers will be a fundamental part of DHSC’s upcoming Green Paper. A sustainable settlement for social care will simply not be possible without focussing on how our society supports carers. The Government has committed to publishing the Green Paper at the earliest opportunity setting out its proposals for reform.</p><p> </p><p>Carers who provide professional caring services to multiple severely disabled people do so as a means of employment and are paid accordingly rather than relying on carers benefits.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 16/07/2019 09:11:56 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1142183

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
	answering dept id	17
	answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
	answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
	hansard heading	Carer's Allowance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to support the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of (a) carers and (b) carers who face financial uncertainty as a result of the suspension of their carer’s allowance.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	282207
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises and appreciates the contribution made by unpaid carers who provide invaluable support. We are committed to continuing to support carers to provide care as they would wish, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing, employment and other life chances.</p><p>The cross-Government Carers Action Plan was published on 5 June 2018, through which we set out a series of commitments to support all carers, regardless of whether they receive carers allowance, in the short term. We want to make sure that carers receive the support that they are entitled to and so the Department is working with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services on a sector-led improvement programme of work, focused on the implementation of the duties relating to carers in the Care Act (2014). We expect that by summer 2020 a series of resources and learning to support commissioners to do this will be published.</p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions does not suspend Carer’s Allowance claims lightly and will only do so where there is reasonable doubt about ongoing entitlement to benefit.</p> answering member constituency Gosport answering member printed Caroline Dinenage question first answered 09/09/2019 16:48:23 answering member 4008 label Biography information for Dame Caroline Dinenage
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman