Why has the Scottish Government adopted a different approach to the rest of the UK?
Scottish Ministers took the view that no-one should have to repay money because of mistakes by Government Departments/Agencies and therefore decided that it was appropriate to write-off any overpayments. The SG also felt that it was wrong to reduce someone’s pension, which would have been in payment for many years, and especially since there was no-way that the individual would have realised they were receiving the wrong amount. Despite these views being presented to the UK Government, no HM Treasury consent was given and this is why the final decisions in Scotland are different to the rest of the UK.
