Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, under what circumstances the NHS Pension Scheme would write off an overpayment due to official error.

The NHS Business Services Authority administers the National Health Service Pension Scheme. As a public body it is required to act in accordance with the document Managing Public Money, issued by Her Majesty’s Treasury, when considering writing off an overpayment due to official error. A copy is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/managing-public-money

Paragraph A4.11.2 states, ‘In principle public sector organisations should always pursue recovery of overpayments, irrespective of how they came to be made. In practice, however, there will be both practical and legal limits to how cases should be handled. So each case should be dealt with on its merits’. In doing so, the NHS Business Services Authority would take into account the following factors:

- The nature and complexity of the overpayment;

- The value of the overpayment;

- The length of time since the overpayment was made to ensure the Limitations Act is considered;

- Whether there is a case of that the legal defences of change of position or Estoppel could be reasonably relied upon; and

- The potential hardship caused by reclaiming the overpayment, and the ability of the individual to repay.

Therefore the NHS Business Services Authority would consider writing off an overpayment where, having assessed the above factors and taken legal advice, there may be sufficient grounds not to pursue further.