Unpaid carers caught in a benefits scandal involving incorrect overpayments may face lengthy delays before receiving refunds or having their debts canceled, campaigners have warned. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently reviewing around 200,000 cases related to carer’s allowance recipients who were wrongly pursued for repayments due to changes in benefit rules that officials admit were unlawful.

An estimated 25,000 carers may see their debts reduced, canceled, or refunded partially or fully following the reassessment, which began in April as part of a £75 million programme. The review focuses primarily on cases where the DWP failed to properly account for irregular earnings from part-time work — a breach of legal requirements to average income over a year — which led to some carers being unfairly penalized.

Despite the scale of the exercise, progress has been slow. As of this month, only about 3,000 cases, or roughly 1.5% of the total, have been reviewed. Carers UK threatened that at the current pace, the process could take up to 27 years to complete. Campaigners voiced concerns that many carers, some of whom have already waited more than a decade, may die or lose contact before their cases are resolved.

The DWP maintains that it remains on schedule to finish the reassessment within the initially announced three-year timeframe. Welfare minister Stephen Timms told MPs earlier this month that the department had made efforts to increase staffing and reduce overpayments, yet more than 30,000 overpayments were still recorded in 2025-26, including 78 cases exceeding £20,000. Official data from last year showed that 144,000 carers continued to repay these debts, which accumulated over several years.

The reassessment follows a wider review triggered by a Guardian investigation exposing systemic failures at the DWP, which caused significant financial hardship for unpaid carers and resulted in the misallocation of hundreds of millions of pounds. The government described the situation as a legacy issue inherited from the previous administration and pledged to resolve the scandal by the end of 2024. However, nearly two years later, Members of Parliament and advocacy groups remain skeptical about the speed and thoroughness of the department’s response.

Further controversy arose this year after it was revealed that 1,400 carers were penalized based on discredited guidance, prompting outrage from campaigners who accuse the department of continuing to mishandle cases. Emily Holzhausen, director of policy and public affairs at Carers UK, emphasized the urgent need for a clear plan to accelerate the reassessment, stressing that many affected carers are still awaiting fair treatment and justice.

The DWP reiterated its commitment to completing the reassessment on time but did not specify whether any repayments had already been made to carers.