DWP hiking one benefit by £2,340 despite £6 billion cuts elsewhere

The DWP has confirmed it will increase the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold by £45 a week to £196 from April.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit will be raised by £2,340 despite incoming brutal £6 billion cuts. The DWP has confirmed it will increase the Carer’s Allowance earnings threshold by £45 a week to £196 from April.

The increased threshold of £45 more per week means you can earn an extra £2,340 per year before you lose the eligibility to claim Carer’s Allowance. The changes will enable full-time unpaid carers who provide care for at least 35 hours a week to earn up to £196 a week from next April without forfeiting carer’s allowance benefit, currently £81.90 a week.

The move has been welcomed by campaigners and carers who said it would make “a massive difference” to helping them keep a toehold in the job market. One cleaner on a zero-hours contract at a Wetherspoon’s pub in Stockport, Greater Manchester, said the ability to earn an extra £45 a week without being penalised would “make a massive difference” to unpaid carers.

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“It will be a huge help although very few carers can actually earn that amount because they don’t have the time [because of their caring responsibilities],” she said. “But it certainly takes the pressure off.”

Helen Walker, the chief executive at Carers UK, said: “This is a vital poverty prevention measure helping many carers, particularly women, stay in the labour market … It will help to put much needed cash into the pockets of working carers who do so much to look after their disabled, ill and older relatives.”

Liz 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.”