Social Security Scotland fraud and error payments: FOI release

Information requested

Request for information 1:

Confirm for each of the benefits administered and paid by Social Security Scotland, the cost of payments made in error in for the following years: 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and so far in 2025-26.

Please break this down by cost for each individual benefit.

Request for information 2:

Confirm how many reports Social Security Scotland has made to the police or Crown Office regarding possible fraudulent claims for the following years: 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and so far in 2025-26.

Please break this down by each individual benefit.

Request for information 3:

Where a report was made by Social Security Scotland to the police or the Crown Office what was the outcome of these reports? (e.g. no further action taken, case was prosecuted, conviction secured etc).

Response

We define official error as errors made by Social Security Scotland, such as through human error or system error.

We only recover official error overpayments if the error is one that an individual could reasonably be expected to notice.

Social Security Scotland does not decide when fraud has been committed; that is for the justice system.

Therefore, we do not classify a behaviour as fraud until conviction by the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service, or if the Crown Procurator Fiscal Service has decided on a non-court disposal as an alternative to prosecution.

You can find more information about our preventative approach to Error and Fraud in our Error Control and Counter Fraud Strategies which can be found here:

Social Security Scotland - Error Control Strategy

Social Security Scotland - Counter Fraud Strategy 2023-2026

Further reporting on overpayments and fraud has been published in our Annual Reports and Accounts for 2024-2025 which is linked in the table below.

Response to your request for information 1:

Some of the information you have requested is available from our website Social Security Scotland.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

Information relating to the cost of payments made in error can be found in our annual reports as below:

Publication	Table(s) of Note
Social Security Scotland - Annual Report and Account 2022-2023	25 and 26
Social Security Scotland - Annual Report and Account 2023-2024	18 and 19
Social Security Scotland - Annual Report and Accounts 2024-2025	18 and 19

Please see the current 2025-2026 year to date figures in table below:

Current Year to Date
Benefit	Overpayments
Best Start Grants	£572,167
Best Start Foods	£224,692
Funeral Support Payment	£192,635
Scottish Child Payment	£3,487,418
Child Winter Heating Payment	£0
Child Disability Payment	£311,773
Adult Disability Payment	£3,577,039
Winter Heating Payment	£118
Young Carers Grant	£0
Carer Support Payment	£936,147
Pension Age Disability Payment	£124,395
Total	£9,426,382

Note: The figures provided in this table may change depending on the status of the overpayments, including whether they are under appeal or review. As the status of overpayments is continually being reviewed and updated, the numbers in this response may differ in other reports or publications.

Response to your request for information 2 and 3:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. This is because we do not hold this information for the financial year 2022-2023.

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

Financial Year	Number of reports	Outcomes
2023-2024	1 Funeral Support Payment 1 Adult Disability Payment	Funeral Support Payment: 1 Admonished – case dismissed Adult Disability Payment: 1 Awaiting Trial
2024-2025	8 Adult Disability Payment	Adult Disability Payment: 2 Guilty Plea 6 Awaiting Trial
	3 Scottish Child Payment	Scottish Child Payment: 2 No Further Action 1 Awaiting Trial
	1 Funeral Support Payment	Funeral Support Payment: 1 Fiscal Warning
2025 - Year to date	11 Adult Disability Payment 4 Scottish Child Payment	Adult Disability Payment: 11 Awaiting Trial Scottish Child Payment: 3 No Further Action 1 Fiscal Warning

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.