Carer’s Leave

Anna Dixon Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Alison Bennett]

I thank my hon. Friend for that powerful intervention. I absolutely agree that there should be an amnesty on those overpayments. They were accrued through no fault on the part of the people who received carer’s allowance. It came about through a failure of the Government, the Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to communicate with each other, convey information and follow up on debts as they accrued.

This is a scandal. Many of those carers had no idea they were being overpaid. That is why I and Lib Dem colleagues are fighting for a better deal. In our manifesto, we pledged to increase the carer’s allowance by £20 a week, which would have raised it to £101.90—an extra £1,040 a year. We would also raise the earnings threshold to £183 a week, in line with 16 hours on the minimum wage. Crucially, we would taper the allowance gradually, instead of cutting it off entirely. That is fair, and means that carers will not be penalised for working a few extra hours to support themselves.

Our vision for carers goes beyond financial support. We would introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks, because everyone needs time to rest, including carers. Many local councils already offer a respite service, but they have been stretched and pushed to the brink. Those councils do not have the resources to meet the demand for something so vital. We would make it a legal right to support respite care by introducing free personal care and pushing for long-term sustainable funding for social care, which is something I would like to see the Government act much faster on.

We must support carers because they are frankly being let down. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I would introduce paid carer’s leave, building on the Carer’s Leave Act 2023. The coming into force of that landmark law means that 2 million carers have the right to take unpaid leave. Our next step is to make that paid leave, because caring for a loved one should not come at the cost of someone losing their job or income. All of that is rooted in one simple belief: no one should have to choose between caring for a loved one and having a decent life of their own.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

I note that I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers. A lot of employers are already going further than the statutory requirement, in offering some days of paid leave. Members of Employers for Carers have found it has helped with retention of workers. Does she agree that some leading employers are already showing the benefits of providing paid carer’s leave on a voluntary basis?

[Alison Bennett]

I thank the hon. Member for that question. I agree there are some exemplar employers who lead the way. As the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) said, the benefits to the economy of offering paid leave outweigh the potential costs.

Carers are more likely to be women, more likely to be middle-aged and more likely to be juggling children and caring responsibilities. They are that sandwich generation. One in seven people in the workplace are doing just that. They deserve real action and real support. I say to every unpaid carer listening today that, whether they realise it or not, they are pillars of our society. We, here and everywhere else, must recognise that. Carers, we see you and value you; the Liberal Democrats are on your side.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Justin Madders)]

I will do my best, Mr Stringer. No doubt the tension of knowing there might be an interruption will add to the excitement of my comments. It is, as always, a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship.

I declare an interest as a foster carer. We are not specifically talking about foster care, but it is part of the wider ambit of care. I congratulate the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) on securing today’s debate and on her very long-standing and successful advocacy for unpaid carers. We all recognise the key role she played in establishing the unpaid carer’s entitlement through her sponsorship of the Carer’s Leave Act 2023.

It is right that we take time to discuss the support available to unpaid carers who provide care to a family member, partner or friend alongside paid work. I accept the hon. Member’s analysis that her Act, while an important step forward, is not a panacea for all the issues that carers face. A number of hon. Members have emphasised that point.

I start by recognising the dedication and compassion of carers across the country. It is important to recognise their contribution to society, both in their working life and as carers, but we also need to consider the support they need to navigate their dual responsibilities. I join the hon. Member in paying tribute to the support groups available to carers. Their role is often understated, but that wider network has a very important part to play for carers.

As we have heard, carers all too often end up stopping work altogether, or they reduce their hours to manage their caring responsibilities. Just half of adult carers are in work, and a quarter are economically inactive. The hon. Lady mentioned the Centre for Care’s research report, which I will certainly look at.

We have heard about a considerable number of challenges today, which demonstrates why it is essential that we think about how we support carers to balance those responsibilities alongside other aspects of their life, including, of course, work. The hon. Lady recognised that we are improving access to flexible working through our landmark Employment Rights Bill. We believe that will help people to balance their work and other responsibilities, including their family life, such as where an individual is working alongside delivering care to a loved one inside or outside the home.

The hon. Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello) spoke very movingly about his constituent Sarah. I do not think her experience is unique, and we all recognise that there are people like Sarah in every constituency and every part of this country. The hon. Gentleman also mentioned carer’s allowance, and I will pull up the shadow Minister on what he said about the increase in carer’s allowance, as it actually came into effect on 7 April 2025. This Government increased the earnings limit from £151 a week to £196 a week, so it is equivalent to 16 hours a week at the national living wage. It is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since carer’s allowance was introduced back in 1976, and the highest increase in percentage terms since 2001.

That means carers can now earn up to £10,000 a year while retaining their carer’s allowance, which can be worth around an additional £2,000 a year. As a result, more than 60,000 additional people will be able to receive carer’s allowance between this year and 2029-30.

Several hon. Members referred to the difficulties their constituents have had after receiving an overpayment, and it is fair to say that issue has been recognised by the Department for Work and Pensions. We understand the anxiety it causes, which is why it is important that we independently review what has happened and find out what went wrong to make sure that things are put right. We urge anyone in receipt of carer’s allowance to inform the Department of any change in their circumstances so that overpayments can be reviewed. It is certainly something that the Department will be advised of following this debate.

Employees caring for someone who is disabled, elderly or living with a long-term health condition are entitled to carer’s leave, which can be taken flexibly in half or whole days, or in one go, over the course of a year. Thanks to the hon. Member for North East Fife, the Carer’s Leave Act has now been in force for just over a year. It is still bedding in, and our plan to make work pay includes a commitment to review its implementation. To deliver that commitment, the post-implementation review of the Act is now under way.

We have also outlined our commitment to explore the potential benefits of further policy development to support unpaid carers in employment, while being mindful of the impact on business. That work will include careful consideration of paid carer’s leave, and again, work is under way. Officials in my Department have spoken to over 70 employers, third sector organisations and charities such as Carers UK. There have been events in Wales, England and Scotland, and that engagement will continue as the review progresses, alongside both qualitative and quantitative research.

[Anna Dixon]

I thank the Minister for his commitment to review carer’s leave and to consider the opportunity for looking at paid carer’s leave. Does he agree that would particularly benefit low-income workers and women? They make up the bulk of unpaid carers, and they find it particularly difficult to take unpaid carer’s leave because they simply cannot afford it.

[Justin Madders]

That point has been mentioned a number of times in this debate, and we will certainly look at the research as it is produced.

I have noted that the shadow Minister now supports paid carer’s leave, although he could not bring himself to support it during the passage of the Employment Rights Bill. I am aware that there has been some debate on the issue in the other place, and we will look very carefully at how that debate unfolds.

It is important that we take the time to carefully consider the potential impact of any further policy before taking any decisions. As the hon. Member for North East Fife said, we often receive responses on the 2023 Act’s application from organisations that are engaged on this issue. I pay tribute to those organisations, and some are clearly leading the way. An important point was made that, even in organisations that are very supportive of carer’s leave and have all the policies in place, people sometimes do not get any further if they have the wrong line manager. That applies to a number of similar entitlements, so more work is needed.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon) mentioned, we need to ensure that any decisions we make are grounded in evidence. There are several potential approaches to further support, including paid carer’s leave, and we will continue to consider those with external stakeholders. It is important to note that careful design is needed where leave entitlements have a pay entitlement attached. Thought must be given not only to the impact on carers and businesses but to how any such paid entitlement would interact with existing legislation and rights.

The hon. Member for North East Fife asked a number of important questions about the Department’s role in informing employers and carers of their new rights. Obviously, gov.uk is one source, but other organisations and charities that we work with, such as Carers UK and the Carers Trust, are also sources of information. There are also carers’ networks, employers and bodies such as ACAS and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. As part of our stakeholder engagement in business roundtables, we are considering what further work we can do to promote information on carers’ rights. I am a strong believer that rights are only as good as people’s awareness and ability to enforce them.

We are engaging with carers and businesses. We are working with advocacy groups such as Carers UK and the Centre for Care, and we are working across Government to provide a coherent approach. There is now a ministerial working group on unpaid carers, involving the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education, and it is discussing a cross-governmental approach.

Turning to the broader dimensions of the debate, the hon. Member for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe (David Chadwick) spoke with great sincerity about the issues faced by his constituents. The themes that he picked out in relation to his constituents, and to Wales more broadly, about awareness of those rights and whether people can afford to exercise them, were important and are replicated across the UK.

The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) spoke with his customary sincerity—I do not say that just because he was pleasant about me—and conveyed the importance of carers in his constituency and across Northern Ireland. I commit to speaking to my counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive about some of the points he raised.

I am conscious that there may be Divisions shortly and that I need to give the hon. Member for North East Fife an opportunity to respond, so I conclude by saying that we have heard the case that Members have made about the importance of supporting carers and their need to balance paid work against their caring responsibilities. All the issues raised are being considered in the Department’s ongoing work.

I genuinely value the heartfelt and constructive discussion we have had this afternoon. We all agree that unpaid carers deserve our recognition and support, and I am glad to see Members coming together to express that. I once again thank the hon. Member for securing this debate, and I am sure we will continue this discussion.