Pensioners (Benefit Overpayments) (Hansard, 31 October 2000)

§ Mr. Rooker

The administration of benefits is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. John Bercow, dated 30 October 2000: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to respond to your Parliamentary Question asking what guidance he has issued to the Benefits Agency about its approach to cases in which pensioners on benefits unbeknown to them and to the Agency have been over-paid for 12 months or more. The Overpayments Recovery Guide is an internally produced manual available to staff dealing with overpayments of benefit. It provides general advice to staff on how to proceed once an overpayment has been identified, dealing with issues such as the classification of the overpayment, for example, mistake by the customer, official error, and special age and welfare considerations. It has always been our policy to recover overpayments as quickly and as effectively as possible, without causing undue financial hardship to our customers. The decision whether an overpayment is recoverable is normally made by a decision-maker. In cases where an overpayment is caused by misrepresentation or failure to disclose a material fact Section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 allows the recovery of that overpayment. Recovery is sought whenever it is appropriate to do so. The decision automatically provides a right of appeal on the grounds of whether there has been misrepresentation or failure to disclose and the amount determined. This legislation covers the vast majority of the overpayments we try to recover. However, in some cases we may seek to recover overpayments that fall outside the scope of Section 71. Typically, repayment may be requested where a person has been paid over and above the amount authorised; for example, where someone has been paid twice for the same period. I hope this is helpful.