‘Something has gone very wrong’: how the carers scandal was exposed

A Guardian investigation revealed how hundreds of thousands of people were plunged into debt – and some criminalised – for looking after their loved ones

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Carer's allowance crisis | The Guardian

<p>A series reporting on unpaid carers in the UK who are being plunged into debt and prosecuted for fraud by the Department for Work and Pensions over&nbsp;its own benefit&nbsp;overpayments</p>

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The Paul Foot Award | Private Eye

The Paul Foot Award is an award given for investigative or campaigning journalism, set up in memory of revered journalist Paul Foot, who died in 2004.

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The Guardian view on unpaid carers: the scandal of their allowances is far from over | Editorial

Editorial: New rules for checking overpayments are a milestone. But deep concerns remain about the DWP’s approach

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DWP to overhaul carer’s allowance checks after overpayment scandal

Department previously investigated only 50% of earnings limit alerts, meaning many carers fell into debt

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‘I’m still sick. I’m still disabled. But I’m proud of my body’: Frances Ryan’s manifesto for disabled women

Women with disabilities are the biggest minority group in the world, but are still shut out of society. In an extract from her new book, the writer reveals how that is changing – and what more needs t...

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Ill and disabled people will be made ‘invisible’ by UK benefit cuts, say experts

Those who lose benefit payments will find it difficult to access care and support services, says Policy in Practice

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Nearly 20 councils in England ‘at risk of insolvency’ due to Send costs

Exclusive: Councils say multibillion-pound debts caused by years of overspends on special educational needs support

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‘I can’t sleep, I’m so scared’: disabled people face benefit cuts domino effect

Three people tell how knock-on impact of losing Pip on carer’s allowance and other benefits will affect their families

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‘Nobody found him in time’: how neglect and stress led to the deaths of a full-time carer and his son

David Lodge died after being found next to his father and full-time carer Peter’s body. His sister Keri believes the strain of caring and lack of government support contributed to their deaths

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Liz Kendall struggles to sell ‘immoral and devastating’ disability benefits cut

Disability charities call foul as welfare secretary buries austerity-like news under earnest talk of reform

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Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England

White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets

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‘Ticking timebomb’: how Send spending could bankrupt English councils

Guardian analysis lays bare a neglected system that is ruinously expensive, and often fails children and parents

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Ministers plan major changes to Send education in England

White paper being prepared as councils hope for relief from huge deficits in special educational needs budgets

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Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits

Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system

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Ministers scrap DWP program allowing landlords to tap into tenants’ benefits

Exclusive: Liz Kendall confirms government will no longer back controversial ‘computer says yes’ system

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Macmillan Cancer Support cuts quarter of staff and scraps hardship scheme

Exclusive: Charity says it has made drastic changes to safeguard future as Guardian finds it spent £100m more than it raised over last six years

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Unpaid carer wins overpayment penalty case against DWP

Andrea Tucker has overturned the demand for £4,600 in carer’s allowance overpayments for alleged breaches in benefit rules

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Benefits system should protect, not punish, vulnerable people | Letters

Letters: Labour’s focus on crackdowns and fraudsters lodges in the psyche, feeding precarity and self-doubt, says Dr Jay Watts. Plus a letter from Stephanie O’Brien

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Labour must seize the moment to show child poverty matters in push for growth | Heather Stewart

Scrapping two-child benefit cap is among levers Rachel Reeves could pull – yet chancellor remains silent on ‘shameful’ levels of poverty

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Unpaid carer to challenge DWP allowance overpayment penalty in court

‘It takes the little people to stand up,’ says Andrea Tucker, who was told to repay £4,600 after caring for mother for 15 years

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As Labour touts more brutal cuts to benefits, how is this different from life under the Tories? | Frances Ryan

There may be no nasty impulse to punish ‘skivers’, but the end result – the most vulnerable hit hardest – is exactly the same, says columnist Frances Ryan

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Ruth Wyner obituary

Charity worker with the homeless whose imprisonment under the Misuse of Drugs Act caused an international outcry

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Six English councils granted permission to raise council tax bills despite cap

Angela Rayner says government ‘under no illusions’ as cash-strapped authorities try to avoid bankruptcy

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Charities forced to ‘evict’ adults in their care to stay solvent, survey finds

Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in ‘state of acute precarity’

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Ministers could allow council tax to rise by up to 25% to prevent bankruptcies

Experts say it is inevitable government will let English local authorities exceed 5% cap if they are likely to go bust

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