Minister vows to end scandal that left thousands of carers in debt

Review launched after benefit breaches led to threats of prosecution

- Patrick Butler, Josh Halliday

Draconian penalties that caused unpaid carers to rack up thousands of pounds of debt after unwittingly falling foul of benefit rules are to be overhauled, the government has said.

The announcement was made six months after a Guardian investigation revealed that tens of thousands of vulnerable carers were being ordered to repay hefty overpayments - and even threatened with criminal prosecution over minor breaches of carer's allowance earnings limits.

The secretary of state for work and pensions, Liz Kendall, said she had commissioned an "open and transparent" independent review of carer's allowance overpayments to assess how they were allowed to be accrued on such a vast scale.

Kendall told the Guardian: "Like many people, I have read distressing accounts in this newspaper from carers who have had to pay back large sums of overpaid carer's allowance.

Carers have felt shock, frustration, and anxiety as a result. Families are often pushed to breaking point just for looking after the people they love.

They deserve to be recognised, supported and valued for all they do.

"I am determined to be open and transparent about what has happened in carer's allowance and to learn all the lessons. This review marks a big step forward for unpaid carers, shedding light on this issue so we can put things right." A series of Guardian articles in recent months revealed what has become known as the "carer's allowance scandal", highlighting the often frightening and humiliating punishments imposed on carers by benefits officials, causing public outrage and leading to comparisons to the Post Office Horizon scandal.