Recommendation 29

We are concerned about the risk associated with trying to reclaim an overpayment and the time it takes to recover an overpayment. The Department told us that it has “very good and wide-ranging powers in terms of debt recovery” and that “there are cases where things are written off, but they are exceptional cases”.57 However, around £290 million of non-recoverable benefit overpayments were written-off in 2019–20, with an additional £7 million relating to customer fraud also written-off.58 Although there is a possibility (not certainty) to recover from State Pension, this could be years or decades away.59 The Department’s accounts show that it anticipates that it will not be able to recover a significant portion (44%) of its existing benefit overpayments and Tax Credits debt, recognising a £1.9 billion impairment in its accounts. It reported that ‘around £1.0 billion in benefit debt (this is debt accrued over time) was recovered by the Department and Local Authorities in 2019–20’.60 Interacting with vulnerable claimants