Clause 43
Welfare Reform Bill
5:45 pm
Adam Afriyie (Windsor, Conservative)
I want to make a couple of comments about the recovery of overpayments. The hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey covered this territory earlier, and it is uncontroversial to say that if an overpayment is made, it should be recovered. However, I have two concerns. With the changes to the Social Security Administration Act 1992, an overpayment that is due to a banking or processing error by the local authority or whoever makes the payment will automatically be reclaimed without a new decision confirming that an overpayment was made. Somebody who is a couple of hundred pounds overdrawn, who continues to spend, as most people do, and who does not spot the overpayment will be put in a difficult position if the money has to be returned immediately. They are already in a difficult financial position, by virtue of the fact that they claim those benefits. I want an explanation of how the new power to reclaim an overpayment immediately will impact on the least well off in society—those who claim benefits.