Unpaid carers will be allowed to earn above the weekly limit without losing out, as a mechanism described as a "cliff-edge" is abolished, according to a report by The Guardian. The headline of the report indicates that under the existing arrangement, carers who exceed the weekly limit risk losing out.
The newspaper reported that the rule had led to unpaid carers being punished with penalties amounting to thousands of pounds, and that it is to be abolished following a Guardian investigation. The paper described the mechanism as controversial.
The Guardian said the chancellor, John Healey, is to announce a new digital taper system for the so-called carer's allowance in Wednesday's budget. The summary of the report ends partway through its account of that announcement.
The report is credited to Patrick Butler and Pippa Crerar, the reporters named on the story. The text available for this account does not include the full details of the new taper system, how it would apply to individual carers, or any response from the government. Those details were not reported in the material available for this account.
The rule concerns the so-called carer's allowance, the benefit the Guardian's summary names in connection with the change. Because the summary is partial, the full extent of the change, including any effective date, is not set out here. The Guardian's full report should be consulted for complete figures and quotations.