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<p>Claimants have a responsibility to ensure they are entitled to benefits they claim
and to inform the DWP of any changes in their circumstances that could impact their
award.</p><p> </p><p>Overpayments occur when an individual receives a payment they
are not entitled to. The fines imposed by DWP for overpayments vary depending on the
circumstances of the overpayment.</p><p> </p><p>Administrative Penalties may be offered
by the fraud investigator as an alternative to a prosecution in certain cases where
there has been benefit fraud or attempted benefit fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The table below
provides the volume and value of Administrative Penalties accepted due to an overpayment
of Carer’s Allowance, by financial year.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial
Years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Volume </strong><strong>of</strong> <strong>Administrative
Penalties</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>64</p></td><td><p>£114.4k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>43</p></td><td><p>£80.2k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>43</p></td><td><p>£81.3k</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>75</p></td><td><p>£140.8k</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>For cases of claimant error, a £50 Civil Penalty may be imposed by
DWP where an individual incurs an overpayment as a result of failing to provide accurate
information and have not taken reasonable steps to correct the error.</p><p> </p><p>The
table below provides the volume and value of Civil Penalties given due to an overpayment
of Carer’s Allowance, by financial year.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial
Years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Volume</strong><strong> of Civil Penalties</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Value</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>14.9k</p></td><td><p>£0.747m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>26.3k</p></td><td><p>£1.309m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>24.8k</p></td><td><p>£1.241m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>30.1k</p></td><td><p>£1.506m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>
</strong></p><p>Note that our latest figures show there are approximately 1.4 million
people claiming Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>The data provided for this response
is for the volume of penalties, and it is important to note that individuals can receive
more than one penalty.</p><p> </p><p>Data been sourced from internal DWP management
information, which is intended only to help the Department to manage its business.
It is not intended for publication and has not been subject to the same quality assurance
checks applied to our published official statistics. Our analysis has not captured
a small but unknown number of penalties that are logged as debts in their own right
on the debt MI system. Our understanding is that this approach is rarely used for
Carer’s Allowance.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>More information about DWP penalties
policy can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/penalties-for-social-security-fraud-and-error/penalties-policy-in-respect-of-social-security-fraud-and-error"
target="_blank">Penalties policy: in respect of social security fraud and error -
GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p>
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