Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) men and (b) women are in debt to his Department through overpayments of Carers Allowance.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 14th May 2024, the volume of people who have an outstanding Carers Allowance debt is 134,800 with a total value of £251m. This figure represents the total stock and as such the total monetary amount may have been accrued over multiple years. Those who have an outstanding Carers Allowance debt may no longer be in receipt of the benefit.
Women make up the majority of Carer’s Allowance claims, and this is reflected in the proportion of those with an outstanding Carer’s Allowance debt. As of 14th May 2024, there were 42,800 (32%) males, 91,900 (68%) females and 100 (less than 1%) not identified, with an outstanding Carers Allowance debt.
As of November 2023, there were over 991,000 people in receipt of Carers Allowance. That figure is made up of over 271,000 (27%) males and 720,000 (73%) females.
The data contained in our response has 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. It should therefore be treated with caution.
All figures provided have been rounded.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in debt to the Department through overpayments of Carers Allowance; and how much do they owe in total.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 14th May 2024, the volume of people who have an outstanding Carers Allowance debt is 134,800 with a total value of £251m. This figure represents the total stock and as such the total monetary amount may have been accrued over multiple years. Those who have an outstanding Carers Allowance debt may no longer be in receipt of the benefit.
Women make up the majority of Carer’s Allowance claims, and this is reflected in the proportion of those with an outstanding Carer’s Allowance debt. As of 14th May 2024, there were 42,800 (32%) males, 91,900 (68%) females and 100 (less than 1%) not identified, with an outstanding Carers Allowance debt.
As of November 2023, there were over 991,000 people in receipt of Carers Allowance. That figure is made up of over 271,000 (27%) males and 720,000 (73%) females.
The data contained in our response has 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. It should therefore be treated with caution.
All figures provided have been rounded.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Carer’s Allowance overpayment cases are being investigated by his Department; and if he will publish the level of overpayments being pursued, broken down into £1,000 ranges in the financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are currently 750 live cases where Carers Allowance is shown as the “primary” benefit under investigation.
We do not hold information on the size of any individual overpayment whilst the investigation process is taking place – this is not determined until the investigation is completed.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many outstanding Carer’s Allowance Verify Earnings and Pension service alerts there were at the end of the financial year 2023-24.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The DWP is currently developing recommendations focused on helping claimants understand their responsibilities to report a change of circumstances and how DWP can help prevent the accumulation of debts amongst Carer’s Allowance claimants.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who claimed Carer's Allowance were caring for someone in receipt of a Personal Independence Payment in the past 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of people who claimed Carer's Allowance also claimed a Personal Independence Payment in the past 12 months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This information is only available at disproportionate cost to The Department for Work & Pensions as the Department does not have a business requirement for this information to be retained.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's proposed changes to Personal Independence Payments on unpaid carers.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Modernising Support for Independent Living: The Health and Disability Green Paper looks at different options to reshape the current welfare system so that we can provide better targeted support to those who need it most. We are considering these options through our 12-week consultation which was published on Monday 29 April and will close on Monday 22 July at 11:59pm. Any possible impacts on unpaid carers will be considered as necessary.
There will be no immediate changes to PIP, or to health assessments. All scheduled PIP assessments and payments will proceed as normal, and claimants should continue to engage as usual and provide any necessary information or updates regarding their circumstances.
We encourage everyone to respond to the consultation which can be found here, so that we are able to hear from as many disabled people, people with health conditions, their representatives, and local stakeholders as possible on these important issues.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that farmers follow duties under (a) section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and (b) Cattle and public access guidance published by the Health and Safety Executive.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Over the period 2020/21-2022/23, eight members of the public were killed in agriculture, forestry and fishing in work-related incidents involving cattle while walking on public rights of way or open access land. This information has been published on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2022/23 (hse.gov.uk)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provide the national reporting framework for accident reporting and place a duty on responsible persons (usually employers, certain self-employed persons, and those in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority.
Incidents involving livestock and members of the public are reportable under RIDDOR where they result in either a fatality or a member of public attending hospital, directly from site, for treatment in respect of any injuries sustained. Many serious incidents are not reported so HSE does not have verified data on major injuries sustained by members of the public involving cattle. However, some analysis was done in 2020/21 for the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee and this suggested that 26 members of the public sustained non-fatal injuries from cattle whilst walking on public rights of way or open access land.
The safety and health of people at work in agriculture and members of the public who are affected by agricultural activities is a concern to HSE and the industry. HSE has a long-term strategy to drive up industry ownership of the challenge and influence farmer behaviour to comply with long standing legal requirements. Since 2018, HSE has delivered an annual programme of free training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. These targeted inspections specifically check if farmers are complying with the law in relation to management of risks from workplace vehicles, cattle (including the management of cattle in fields with public rights of ways) and falls.
Earlier this year HSE has launched its 2024 Agricultural Campaign Work Right Agriculture - Work Right to keep Britain safe which includes a clear focus on management of livestock in a bid to improve safety on Britain’s farms. HSE is committed to supporting farmers to work safely with livestock.
HSE also produces guidance to enable farmers and landowners to manage the risk from cattle put into fields which also have public access. Guidance is available free of charge on HSE’s website:
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of members of the public who have been seriously injured by cattle while walking on public rights of way or open access land in the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Over the period 2020/21-2022/23, eight members of the public were killed in agriculture, forestry and fishing in work-related incidents involving cattle while walking on public rights of way or open access land. This information has been published on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2022/23 (hse.gov.uk)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provide the national reporting framework for accident reporting and place a duty on responsible persons (usually employers, certain self-employed persons, and those in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority.
Incidents involving livestock and members of the public are reportable under RIDDOR where they result in either a fatality or a member of public attending hospital, directly from site, for treatment in respect of any injuries sustained. Many serious incidents are not reported so HSE does not have verified data on major injuries sustained by members of the public involving cattle. However, some analysis was done in 2020/21 for the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee and this suggested that 26 members of the public sustained non-fatal injuries from cattle whilst walking on public rights of way or open access land.
The safety and health of people at work in agriculture and members of the public who are affected by agricultural activities is a concern to HSE and the industry. HSE has a long-term strategy to drive up industry ownership of the challenge and influence farmer behaviour to comply with long standing legal requirements. Since 2018, HSE has delivered an annual programme of free training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. These targeted inspections specifically check if farmers are complying with the law in relation to management of risks from workplace vehicles, cattle (including the management of cattle in fields with public rights of ways) and falls.
Earlier this year HSE has launched its 2024 Agricultural Campaign Work Right Agriculture - Work Right to keep Britain safe which includes a clear focus on management of livestock in a bid to improve safety on Britain’s farms. HSE is committed to supporting farmers to work safely with livestock.
HSE also produces guidance to enable farmers and landowners to manage the risk from cattle put into fields which also have public access. Guidance is available free of charge on HSE’s website:
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number of members of the public who have been killed by cattle whilst walking on public rights of way or open access land in the last three years.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Over the period 2020/21-2022/23, eight members of the public were killed in agriculture, forestry and fishing in work-related incidents involving cattle while walking on public rights of way or open access land. This information has been published on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website Fatal injuries in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain 2022/23 (hse.gov.uk)
The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provide the national reporting framework for accident reporting and place a duty on responsible persons (usually employers, certain self-employed persons, and those in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority.
Incidents involving livestock and members of the public are reportable under RIDDOR where they result in either a fatality or a member of public attending hospital, directly from site, for treatment in respect of any injuries sustained. Many serious incidents are not reported so HSE does not have verified data on major injuries sustained by members of the public involving cattle. However, some analysis was done in 2020/21 for the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee and this suggested that 26 members of the public sustained non-fatal injuries from cattle whilst walking on public rights of way or open access land.
The safety and health of people at work in agriculture and members of the public who are affected by agricultural activities is a concern to HSE and the industry. HSE has a long-term strategy to drive up industry ownership of the challenge and influence farmer behaviour to comply with long standing legal requirements. Since 2018, HSE has delivered an annual programme of free training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. These targeted inspections specifically check if farmers are complying with the law in relation to management of risks from workplace vehicles, cattle (including the management of cattle in fields with public rights of ways) and falls.
Earlier this year HSE has launched its 2024 Agricultural Campaign Work Right Agriculture - Work Right to keep Britain safe which includes a clear focus on management of livestock in a bid to improve safety on Britain’s farms. HSE is committed to supporting farmers to work safely with livestock.
HSE also produces guidance to enable farmers and landowners to manage the risk from cattle put into fields which also have public access. Guidance is available free of charge on HSE’s website: