Brent Council apologises and blames miscalculation for cancelling post-op carers for woman on Universal Credit

Brent Council has apologised for cancelling post-op carers for a Dollis Hill woman on Universal Credit – saying officers thought her allowance was weekly not monthly.

Violet Kerr, 58, was left to foot the £45.40 weekly bill herself following undergoing ankle surgery, despite only living off £70 a month after outgoings. The council had agreed to pay for her care, but backtracked and told her she was on her own.

Violet had to cope without carers for weeks, ending up in A&E with an infection, before a complaint to Brent Council finally saw healthcare workers reinstated.

A council spokesperson said: "We are very sorry about the inconvenience Violet Kerr has faced.

"Due to the way information is shown on the DWP database, we believed Violet's Universal Credit was paid weekly, not monthly, so our calculations for Violet's contribution reflected this.

"When we send notification letters to customers, we always ask them to contact us straight away if they believe any of the information is incorrect.

"As soon as we were made aware of our mistake we updated Violet's contribution amount."