Victory for carers after inquiry into debt scandal

Hundreds of thousands of claimants found to be victims of official errors

- Patrick Butler Josh Halliday

Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable unpaid carers will have their cases reassessed after a damning official review concluded they had been left with huge debts because of government failure and maladministration.

The review, to be published today, was triggered after a yearlong Guardian investigation revealed how carers had been hit with draconian penalties of as much as £20,000 relating to carer's allowance.

Some were plunged into hardship; others were jailed.

Ministers have promised to cancel or reduce penalties after the review concluded many were wrongly issued and were the result of official error rather than "wilful rule breaking".

However, the government has stopped short of announcing compensation to those affected despite this being understood to be a key recommendation of the review, headed by the disability policy expert Liz Sayce.

The stress, ill-health and anxiety endured by carers who were pushed into debt and hardship by carer's allowance failures emerged in a series of Guardian articles over the past 20 months. Many carers said they were harassed and treated like criminals by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff. Hundreds were convicted of benefit fraud.

It remains unclear what will happen to carers convicted of benefit fraud as a result of official mistakes.

Pat McFadden, the welfare secretary, said putting right failures was essential to rebuild trust with carers. "We inherited this mess from the previous government, but we've listened to carers, commissioned an independent review, and are now making good for those affected," he said.

Ministers are understood to have accepted the most of the review's 40 recommendations.