Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps Department is taking with other Departmental colleagues to reduce the amount of paperwork required to be filled out by carers of people with profound disabilities.

The responsibility for unpaid carers sits across Government. DWP can provide support to eligible carers through the benefit system. The main benefit for unpaid carers is Carer’s Allowance, and we have already taken considerable steps to modernise and improve the way Carer’s Allowance can be claimed.

Carer’s Allowance can be applied for online and since this option was made available in October 2013 over 1.5 million people have applied that way. Since April 2020, over 90% of Carer’s Allowance applications have been made online and over 90% of those customers have said they are happy with the online service.

Going forward, the Department is planning further simplification of the online claim process and in the way claimants report changes online. We are also designing enhancements to support faster and more accurate decisions/payments. Where we already hold information claimants won’t be asked to provide it to us. And our online digital service will be fully compliant with Government accessibility standards to ensure it can be used by those with physical or cognitive impairments.