Anna Dixon MP: speeches

Speeches

• 14 Apr 2026 · Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman that the impact of the overpayments on carers is terrible, and I am going to share the story of someone who was affected. I am sure others have heard similar shocking stories. As many as one in five unpaid carers who claim carer’s allowance and work part time were hit with overpayments. Thousands of carers have been left with huge debts and the fear of financial ruin. Helen cares for her son Robin. He was born with a heart condition, respiratory vulnerabilities, developmental delay, mobility issues and Down’s syndrome. Helen gave up work as a teacher to support Robin and she relied on carer’s allowance. She also received some royalties for online resources that she had created as an education provider. She was paid those every six months, but the Department for Work and Pensions considered them as monthly earnings. It stopped her carer’s allowance and informed her that she had incurred overpayments going back over four years. She was charged more than £2,000 and told to pay back £50 a week. In her words, “there was no care of how we would live or survive. It took me three very long years to repay the debt. It hung over like a great shadow, the letters, the fear of what could come. We were devastated by the department’s actions. Carers just don’t have bank balances that can stretch and withstand such pressures…you are so vulnerable…it shouldn’t be this difficult”. As I have said, Helen’s is not an isolated case; thousands of carers are in this position, not as a result of failure on their part to report to and notify the DWP, but owing to a failure of Government. This scandal is a stain on the record of the British state. I therefore commend this Labour Government for asking Liz Sayce to conduct an independent review of carer’s allowance overpayments. She made it clear that overpayments were caused “not by widespread individual error by carers in reporting their earnings but by systemic issues preventing them from fulfilling their responsibility to report.” I welcome the fact that the Government have accepted the vast majority of her recommendations and set aside £75 million to implement them. Among other things, the review called on the Government to reform the earnings averaging processes and guidance, as well as that for allowable expenses, so that there is clarity, transparency and predictability, and it called for a thorough reassessment of cases to right the wrongs and deliver redress. It called for creative short-term solutions to address the cliff-edge crisis, while the DWP works on a longer-term plan. That is vital. If someone earns one penny over the earnings limit, they have to pay back the whole weekly carer’s allowance. The Sayce review found that although the earnings limit cliff edge does not itself cause overpayments, it dramatically increases their scale and impact, negatively affecting people’s health, finances, wellbeing and opportunities to work. Will the Minister update us on progress on the introduction of a taper system? Liz Sayce recommended a whole range of other reforms, from upgrading computer systems to using more empathetic language, improving the join-up between types of benefits and simplifying the system. I thank her and her team for completing this crucial task. I urge the Minister to implement the recommendations with urgency and to set out the timeline for doing so. Turning to those affected, I welcome yesterday’s announcement that the Government have launched an audit of more than 200,000 carer’s allowance cases affected by unclear Government guidance that was in place between 2015 and 2025. The cases will be reviewed, and debts potentially reduced, cancelled or refunded for some 25,000 unpaid carers. That is excellent news and I am sure the Minister will say more. However, I believe that there are several categories of people who have been adversely affected whose cases remain outstanding. The DWP appears to be accepting responsibility only for those affected by the unlawful guidance on average earnings and not for the lack of clear guidance on expenses deductions. Will the Minister ensure, as the audit begins, that the DWP fully addresses all aspects of maladministration? First, there should be consideration of cases in which the DWP held information regarding expenses but did not act on it or make corrections for many years. Secondly, I urge him to ensure that cases in which data has been “lost” by the DWP are dealt with as Liz Sayce recommended, and treated as cases of official error unless the DWP can prove otherwise. Thirdly, in the cases of those affected by the failure to adjust universal credit correctly, Sayce recommended that the DWP should pay UC arrears. I would be grateful if the Minister addressed whether the audit will include reviews for those missing groups.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  I am a member of the Public Accounts Committee, and we have requested that the DWP reports every six months on its progress on implementing the Sayce review. As a member of that Committee, I will certainly be keeping a close eye on progress. My final point is about the culture in the DWP. I have had the opportunity to challenge its senior officials in the Public Accounts Committee, and I was shocked by the culture on display, which clearly regarded the victims of Government incompetence as benefit fraudsters. It disturbs me that that culture has been prevalent for so long and that, despite knowing about carer’s allowance overpayments for many years, the Department did little or nothing. As a Committee, we are clear that the lack of integrated and concerted leadership from the Department exacerbated the crisis. I ask the Minister for reassurance that he is confident that the senior team at DWP understand the nature of the harm done to carers, are fully committed to putting this right and do not adopt a defensive culture. On the 50th anniversary of carer’s allowance, I call on this Labour Government to right the wrongs caused by the state, which have parallels with the Post Office Horizon scandal, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Rushanara Ali) said, and to put right the scandal of carer’s allowance overpayments so that our carers are paid what they deserve and not punished for the dedication and care they provide.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That this House has considered the matter of Carer’s Allowance overpayments. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Roger. I thank Members for joining me here in Westminster Hall. I have committed my career to securing better care and support for older people and their family carers, and I continue that work here in Parliament as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers. This year marks a significant milestone for carers: it has been 50 years since carer’s allowance was first introduced. It was known originally as the invalid care allowance, and it was the first benefit to recognise the financial sacrifices of unpaid carers. It has made a huge difference, providing vital financial support to those who give 35 hours or more per week in unpaid care. I am proud that it was a Labour Government that introduced carer’s allowance back in 1976, and I am just as proud that this Labour Government and Chancellor increased the earnings threshold from £151 to £196 per week—the largest increase since the benefit was introduced—and again this month to £204 per week, as promised. The world has changed a lot since Harold Wilson was Prime Minister, but some things remain the same, and Labour is still putting its money where its mouth is and standing up for carers. Supporting carers should be a moral mission of any Government. There are 5.8 million unpaid carers in the UK, and the economic value of their contribution is some £184 billion per year, which is more than the entire NHS budget in England. However, despite the value that carers bring to our society, we often fail to value them. According to Carers UK, 1.2 million unpaid carers in the UK live in poverty, and around half of carers cut back on essentials in 2025. There is a multitude of reasons for carer poverty. Many carers give up paid work, but many juggle paid work and unpaid care, often reducing their hours, harming their careers and impoverishing themselves. It is for all those reasons that the carer’s allowance overpayment scandal is hard to stomach.

• 14 Apr 2026 · Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  I had understood that we were also looking into opportunities to alert carers of potentially having breached the earnings limit. Is there anything in place to help communicate information from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or the DWP to carers?

• 13 Apr 2026 · Pride in Place: Community Consultation · Hansard source

  More

  A happy Easter to you, Mr Speaker. The Government’s £1.5 million impact fund for Bradford is critical to communities that have been overlooked for too long. I recently visited Windhill recreation ground in my local area, which is set to benefit from Pride in Place funding. Does the Secretary of State agree that after 14 years of brutal cuts to northern councils such as Bradford, this Labour Government are providing our local areas and communities with the investment they need?

• 17 Mar 2026 · Youth Unemployment · Hansard source

  More

  I welcome the support for small and medium-sized enterprises in my Shipley constituency, which will be able to take on young people who have been long-term unemployed and to offer apprenticeships, but the Secretary of State will know that young carers face additional challenges with getting into education, training or work. Shipley college provides excellent training opportunities, but often struggles to find work placements. Will he commit to working with DFE to ensure that all young people, including young carers, can benefit from today’s announcement?

• 4 Feb 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman sets out many of the hardships and challenges, as other hon. Members have in this debate. Will he take some responsibility? Under the previous Government, when this contract was let, these problems should have been foreseen and the contract never awarded to Capita.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration · Hansard source

  More

  On a point of order, Ms Lewell. I would like to apologise. I need to declare an interest: I also hold a civil service pension and would like to put that on the record.

• 4 Feb 2026 · Civil Service Pension Scheme: Administration · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) not only for securing this important debate, but for her excellent opening speech, which set out comprehensively and with passion the impact that this issue is having on our constituents all across the country. As a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I am well aware of the problems with the civil service pension scheme and contributed to the report that was published on it in October. In that report, we highlighted a range of issues that we have heard about already in this debate: poor customer service and staff retention at MyCSP, long waits for pension options to be set out for those wishing to withdraw pensions, a failure from the Cabinet Office to manage transitions between suppliers, and concerns about Capita’s readiness to take the scheme over and about whether the scheme administration overall was delivering value for money. The Cabinet Office’s response, in the Treasury minute published at the beginning of December last year, reassured the Committee that, yes, everything was in place for the success of the transition, that Capita had sufficient staffing, and that the Cabinet Office had sufficient penalties for poor performance in the contract with Capita. Does the Minister agree that the Cabinet Office underestimated Capita’s ability to take on administration and that it should indeed face consequences for severe failure? Those issues are evident in my own constituency; I can briefly talk about a couple of them. One constituent has been trying to claim civil service pension since May 2025; they have faced long waits on the phones, emails unanswered and documents going missing. Since Capita took over, they have had new problems, such as the portal not allowing log-ins and eventually getting through on the phone only to be cut off. My constituent is suffering from financial hardship, and still waiting for the lump sum. Another constituent, approaching 60, wanted to claim a deferred pension from January this year. The forms were posted in August. He was told he would receive a quote in November, did not receive it, and was unable to speak to Capita despite persistent attempts to contact it. The deferred pension would allow him to remain financially secure. Instead, he has reduced his hours and is now facing financial hardship. A third constituent is waiting for a lump sum to be paid on partial retirement. Again, the correct forms were sent in, but the lump sum was not received and there have been no communications. Such examples are rife. Given the terrible hardship and worry that this fiasco has caused, I urge the Minister to explain what urgent action she is taking to rectify the situation and ensure that Capita, and not our public service pensioners, pays the price.

• 8 Dec 2025 · Child Poverty Strategy · Hansard source

  More

  Children across my Shipley constituency see at first hand the impact of child poverty in their schools and communities. I recently visited the Shipley school uniform hub, run by the Salvation Army, which provides pre-loved uniforms to families who can barely afford the essentials. I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the publication of the child poverty strategy. It is bold and morally right, addressing both the causes and consequences of child poverty. Does she agree with me that delivering on this strategy will not only require action across Government, but working in partnership with communities, in particular faith communities?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Review of Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Minister for his response. As he well knows, over the last decade, around 185,000 unpaid family carers have been pursued by the Department for Work and Pensions to return overpayments in their carer’s allowance. Through no fault of their own, many working carers have faced bills that have often run into thousands of pounds. It is incredibly positive that, after years of inaction from the Tories, this Government have acted. Does the Minister share my hope that trust might now be rebuilt between the state and the near 6 million unpaid family carers in this country?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Review of Carer’s Allowance Overpayments · Hansard source

  More

  7. What steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of the review of carer’s allowance overpayments, published on 25 November 2025.

• 1 Dec 2025 · Budget Resolutions · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend speaks with passion about child poverty. The fact that we have so many children in poverty is clearly a legacy of Tory economic mismanagement. Does my hon. Friend agree that the removal of the two-child benefit cap is a victory for compassion, justice and evidence-based policymaking?

• 20 Nov 2025 · Unpaid Carers: Inequalities · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That this House has considered inequalities faced by unpaid carers. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. First, I will note my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests: I am chair of the all-party parliamentary group on carers, which is supported by Carers UK—an organisation that celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. I thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this important debate to take place on Carers Rights Day, which was established 25 years ago to raise awareness of the rights to which carers are entitled. It does an excellent job of drawing attention to the rights that carers have, as well as helping carers to navigate those rights and be able to exercise them. I have committed my career to securing better care and support for older and disabled people and their carers. I was privileged to serve as chair of the Archbishops’ Commission on Reimagining Care. As part of that work, I heard loud and clear how carers face unrelenting demands and can feel isolated, unsupported and undervalued. The system that carers face is complex, time consuming, rigid and confusing. Getting care and support is often a fight, and many carers are exhausted. As an MP and together with colleagues, some of whom I am pleased to see here today and others of whom were not able to make it, I have sought to speak up for carers and have enjoyed welcoming carers into Parliament to share their stories. Just yesterday, Anna—another Anna—came down; she is a Bradford City fan and she shared some nice stories about her caring experience, which I may come to later. I have also had the pleasure of visiting Carers’ Resource, which is my local carer support organisation. I am sure that colleagues here will want to join me in thanking it and other organisations across the country that provide invaluable support to carers. Of course, many people who work in Parliament as MPs and staff are carers, and it is great that more people are speaking up about their own experiences. Caring is personal for me, too. My grandmother suffered life-changing injuries in a road collision. My mum cared for her for nearly 30 years, never returning to her own career as a doctor. My mum did my grandma’s shopping and banking and took her to the doctor’s, to church and on days out. Thankfully, there were others who helped out; they brought meals, played Scrabble and kept her company. Thanks to the care and support that she received, my grandmother Freda lived a full and fulfilling life. I have seen at first hand the incredible work that unpaid carers do, often unnoticed and at great cost to themselves. Carers are often invisible, unheard and unappreciated. I pay tribute to the 5.8 million carers in the UK. I hope that, through this debate, we can let the millions of unpaid family carers up and down the country know this: we recognise you and we are grateful for all you do. This matters to us all. At some time in our lives, we will need either to provide care or to be cared for. According to Carers UK, the average person has a 50-50 chance of caring for a family member or friend by the age of 50. Indeed, almost half the UK population have provided unpaid care at some point in their lives. Yet many people do not identify as carers. They see it as part of being a parent, wife or daughter—as looking after someone or helping out a loved one. I have met carers at every age and stage of life and from all cultures and races. They include Ruth, a parent carer whose child has special educational needs; Nussrat, who cares for her mum with dementia; Michael, who cared for his wife with Parkinson’s until she died and well into his own old age; Ann, in her 70s and caring for her adult son with learning disabilities; and Farzana, a young carer who cared for her mum throughout her time at school, but was recognised as a carer only when she got to university. Sadly, there is often a cost to caring. Unpaid carers face inequalities in their health and finances, and often also additional barriers to work. I will briefly set out some of those inequalities and what I hope the Minister will say about how the Government will address them, because they need to. I will take health inequalities first. Unpaid carers face significant health inequalities as a result of the mental and physical toll of providing care. They are more likely than non-carers to have experienced a long-term physical or mental health condition, disability or illness. In addition to caring often being physically and emotionally demanding, carers also find it more difficult than most people to access care for themselves. In the words of one woman who is a long-term carer for her parents: “It was great seeing Dad improve, but it came at the expense of my own physical health and emotional stress…We always put ourselves right at the bottom when it comes to our own needs.” All these issues are not only harmful to individual carers; they also put a strain on the NHS. What can be done? First, it is vital that the NHS identifies carers and helps them to access healthcare for themselves as well as for their loved ones. I hope that the NHS, through the delivery of its 10-year plan, takes the opportunity to transform how it interacts with unpaid carers. Improvements could include: better data linkage with the Department for Work and Pensions to identify carers; using digital technology and remote consultations to make it easier to access healthcare from home; investing in a programme to improve carers’ mental health; and preventing carer burnout and breakdown by funding short-term breaks for carers. Unpaid carers also face significant financial inequalities. According to Carers UK’s “State of Caring 2025” report, published today, 1.2 million unpaid carers across the UK live in poverty—400,000 in deep poverty—and four in 10 carers do not know what benefits they are entitled to. About six in 10 unpaid carers provide a staggering 50 hours or more of care per week, so they often have to give up work and rely on benefits to make ends meet. Research also suggests that the employment gap between working-age carers and non-carers was 13%. In the words of one woman who gave up her career to become a full-time carer, “My finances are shot to pieces…and there’s no end in sight.” We know that carer’s allowance is a very important benefit. However, it is too low—just £83.30 per week if someone provides at least 35 hours of care a week. Moreover, my understanding is that those carers in receipt of a state pension do not receive additional financial support as a carer, despite their having additional costs. Sadly, many carers who have been juggling work and care have fallen foul of complicated benefit rules about the earnings limit, and they have built up debts due to overpayments by the DWP. I hope that the Minister will be able to provide reassurances today that the independent review into carer’s allowance overpayments, led by Liz Sayce, will be published soon, together with the Government’s response to it. I hope that the Government say in their response that they will implement swiftly and in full the recommendations of the report. I also hope that those recommendations will include writing off overpayment debts, clear, transparent and accurate information about earnings rules, and a less complicated system for claimants in the future. I was really pleased to see that the Minister for Social Security and Disability, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir Stephen Timms), delivered on the commitment he gave me during a debate on the Universal Credit Bill: that carers will be represented in the review of the personal independent payments working group. Given that PIP is a gateway benefit to carer’s allowance, carers must have a voice in shaping the proposals to reform it. It is vital that we value the contribution of unpaid carers and ensure that their own financial security is not jeopardised by their decision to care. I will touch briefly on work, which is the third main area of inequality for carers. Unpaid carers encounter significant barriers in the workplace. It is estimated that 5 million people juggle work and care in the UK, which equates to one in seven people in every workplace. Balancing work and care can be stressful, so it is perhaps not surprising that one in six carers give up work or reduce their working hours so they can care for others. For a former headteacher who was a carer for his wife, the support from his employer was crucial. He said that “without the support I received from my employer, it would have meant finishing work. The immediate financial situation of losing both our incomes would have been devastating.” Earlier, I mentioned Anna, who works for HSBC. She has talked about the difference that the support she received at work made to her when her husband had a stroke, and her and her family’s lives were turned upside down. She is now a carers champion in the workplace, supporting others in a similar situation. Her bosses at HSBC recognise that that was not just a kind thing to do; it also made business sense, as part of a strategy to retain talent and enable people to perform at their best. It was great to see the “Keep Britain Working” review, the so-called Charlie Mayfield review, recognise the significant impact that providing unpaid care can have on employees’ health, wellbeing and ability to remain in work. I hope that the Minister can assure me that the Government will take it forward. A statutory entitlement of five days’ unpaid care leave was secured through the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, for which I give credit to my colleague, the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain). Some employers already go further, such as TSB, a member of Employers for Carers, which is now a network of over 200 organisations. TSB provides its employees with up to 70 hours of paid leave each year. One in 10 employees with caring responsibilities has taken advantage of that. Employees who are carers know that they can take that time off if they need to and have the confidence to stay on in work. Katie, one of the TSB employees who is a carer, said: “I know of carers who don’t have policies in place at their workplaces and are faced with the additional stress of considering unpaid leave. I’m grateful that TSB supports me with flexible solutions to help me find balance between work and caring for my lovely mum.” Not only do carers benefit from this policy, but TSB does. It says that the policy has had a positive impact on its bottom line and on retaining staff who have caring responsibilities in the workplace. I want to turn to some of the things being done to support workers. I was pleased to speak with the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection, my hon. Friend the Member for Halifax (Kate Dearden), about the barriers that low-paid workers face in taking unpaid leave. I welcome the fact that the Government yesterday published the terms of reference for their review of carer’s leave. I hope that one of the practical things that comes out of that review is a new statutory right to five days of paid carer’s leave a year to support more people balancing employment and unpaid care to remain in work. In the meantime, I urge the Government to work with employers to maximise take-up of the existing right to unpaid carer’s leave and to continue to promote good practice with regard to supporting carers in employment. The door must be kept open for the carers who leave work to care full-time to return to work. Caring responsibilities are the second leading cause of economic inactivity among the over-50s. As the Government deliver their reform in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, they must ensure that tailored employment support for carers is available through jobcentres. Closing the carer’s employment gap will ensure that carers are better off and provide a huge boost to economic productivity. I hope that I have made it clear that unpaid carers face inequalities in health, wealth and work, sometimes with devastating consequences. Carers need more support. I am proud of what the Government are already doing for carers: the rise in the carer’s allowance earning limit in last year’s Budget, setting up the independent review into carer’s allowance to hopefully right that past wrong, and the Employment Rights Bill, with its increased rights to flexibility and enhanced rights to sick pay. As I have just said, I welcome the announcement of the review of unpaid carer’s leave. I hope that the Minister can tell us more about the activities of the inter-ministerial group on carers, which I believe is now up and running again. However, there is more to do. As part of the independent commission into social care, led by Louise Casey, I would like to see a more ambitious new deal for carers—one fit for the 21st century that recognises the enormous contribution that millions of people make each day by providing the unpaid care that their family and friends need. I would like to hear how the Minister will ensure that the NHS, local authorities, social care providers, employers and the benefit system will work together to deliver a bolder package of support for unpaid carers. Let us show the millions of unpaid carers that we care about their health, financial wellbeing and ability to work. We care enough not only to say, “We see you and we thank you”, but to take action and provide meaningful support so that they can care as an act of love and not of necessity and give without suffering consequences themselves. This Carers Rights Day, I urge the Government to commit to tackling the inequalities that affect millions of carers across the UK, without whom many of us would not be able to live a full and happy life or be surrounded by love as we reach the end of our lives.

• 11 Nov 2025 · Autistic Adults: Employment · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Gentleman agree that closing the disability gap—indeed, the specific employment gap for people with neurodiversity—will mean opening up opportunities in different ways, so that autistic people do not have to go through interviews and other barriers that a normal application process requires of neurotypical people?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Regional Economic Growth: Pension Funds · Hansard source

  More

  Many of my constituents have assets in the West Yorkshire Pension Fund, which manages more than £19 million. I am concerned, however, that some of the fund’s investments are concentrated in sectors that cause harm, such as the fossil fuel industry. Does the Minister agree that the West Yorkshire Pension Fund could invest in socially valuable activities, such as the regeneration of the town centre in Shipley and social homes?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Regional Economic Growth: Pension Funds · Hansard source

  More

  4. What steps she is taking with pension providers to help increase regional economic growth.

• 10 Jul 2025 · Resident Doctors: Industrial Action · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate my right hon. Friend on showing great leadership when he came into office to get those doctors back to work and end the strikes. The result of that has been falling waiting times and waiting lists, and I have seen the benefit of that for my constituents in Shipley; they are not having to wait for operations and diagnostic tests in the NHS. Does he agree that this is no time for strike action, and that, should the BMA and the resident doctors go ahead with this strike, this will adversely affect patients and waiting times?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I commend my hon. Friend for her excellent speeches, both today and on Second Reading, and for all the work I know she has done behind the scenes to get us to where we are today. I fully support her new clause 11, which would guarantee meaningful engagement with disabled people before any changes are made to PIP. As she knows, PIP is also a gateway benefit to carer’s allowance, so does she agree that it is essential to include carers, as well as disabled people, in the disability co-production taskforce?

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I am sure that the hon. Lady is familiar with the terms of reference for the Timms review, which clearly set out that its purpose is to ensure that PIP assessment is “fair and fit for the future…and helps support disabled people to achieve better health, higher living standards and greater independence.” I hope that she will agree that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability is very well placed to lead the review in co-production with disabled people.

• 9 Jul 2025 · Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill · Hansard source

  More

  Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that the concessions that the Government have brought forward and the amendments that are before us today ensure that we are getting it the right way around? It is explicit in the terms of reference that the changes are about a fair and fit-for-the-future assessment, rather than to generate further savings, so does he agree that the Bill allows us to get the Timms review done and to bring forward proposals after that?