Error cases reported to Social Security Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

Request for information 1: The amount of error cases which have been reported to any workers of Social Security Scotland over the past four months (November 2024, December 2024, January 2024, February 2024).

Request for information 2: What the most common reason for these error cases has been over the past four months (November 2024, December 2024, January 2024, February 2024).

Request for information 3: The estimated financial cost incurred by those who were supposed to receive payments but failed to receive the correct amount by a result of your errors over the past four months (November 2024, December 2024, January 2024, February 2024).

Response

We have interpreted your request to relate to the period November 2024 to February 2025.

Request for information 1:

7,746 error cases have been recorded from November 2024 to February 2025. This figure includes underpayments and overpayments.

Request for information 2:

Underpayments

Month	Most common reasons
November 2024	Official Error	Processing Error – Evidence updated Incorrectly
December 2024	Official Error	Processing Error – Evidence updated Incorrectly
January 2025	Official Error	Processing Error – Evidence updated Incorrectly
February 2025	Official Error	Processing Error – Evidence updated Incorrectly

Overpayments

Month	Most common reasons
November 2024	Client Induced - Good Faith	Undeclared Loss of Qualifying Benefit
December 2024	Client Induced - Good Faith	Undeclared Loss of Qualifying Benefit
January 2025	Client Induced - Good Faith	Undeclared Loss of Qualifying Benefit
February 2025	Client Induced - Good Faith	Undeclared Loss of Qualifying Benefit

Request for information 3:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.

This is because clients will receive all payments they are entitled to once errors are corrected.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.