Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir ): On 7 July 2026 the
Government launched a Call for Evidence on the modernisation of
Carer's Allowance. We received more than 3,805 responses, and I
want to thank everyone who responded and shared their
experiences.
Today we are publishing the findings of those responses Carer's Allowance: call for
evidence - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab) alongside research into
the impact of the increase in the Carer's Allowance earnings
limit in April 2025 to match 16 hours at the National Living
Wage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carers-allowance-increased-earnings-limit-evaluation(opens
in a new tab)
The findings are varied, but there is broad consensus around the
need to modernise the treatment of earnings and to reduce the
risk of overpayments. These findings alongside those of the Sayce
review into overpayments of Carer's Allowance linked to earnings
have informed the Chancellor's announcement in the Budget of work
to remove the cliff-edge earnings rule in Carer's Allowance once
the necessary infrastructure is in place. This will include
changes to automate earnings data, and to provide greater
predictability in how earnings are treated in the calculation of
Carer's Allowance.
We are providing regular updates to the Work and Pensions and
Public Accounts Committees on progress in implementing the
Government response to the Sayce review and will keep Parliament
informed of progress with these longer-term reforms to adapt
Carer's Allowance to modern patterns of care and work.
