Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v NS
[2024] UKUT 5 (AAC)
WS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
28 March 2023
[2023] UKUT 81 (AAC)
Upper Tribunal
Someone got an overpayment because they didn't tell the government when their pension started. A court ruled that the person should pay back the money because they were supposed to tell the government, and the government's delay in finding out didn't excuse them.
Key Facts
- •Claimant received overpayment of ESA(C) due to failure to report occupational pension commencement.
- •Claimant challenged recoverability of overpayment, not the overpayment itself.
- •Dispute centered on when DWP knew about the pension and whether Claimant's failure to disclose caused the overpayment.
- •Evidence included a telephone claim where Claimant disclosed impending pension, and an HMRC RTI data scan received by DWP on August 14, 2018.
- •First-tier Tribunal (FTT) found Claimant failed to disclose pension commencement date despite being instructed to do so.
- •FTT confirmed the overpayment was recoverable.
Legal Principles
Duty to notify Secretary of State of relevant changes in circumstances.
Regulation 32 of the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987
Recoverability of overpayments due to misrepresentation or failure to disclose material facts.
Section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992
Causation requires a two-fold test: (1) overpayment in consequence of failure to disclose; (2) 'but for' test – would overpayment have been avoided with proper disclosure?
BD v SSWP [2016] UKUT 0162 (AAC)
Division of labor in benefit investigations: Claimant must supply information within their knowledge, but DWP must act on information available to them.
Kerr v Department for Social Development (Northern Ireland) [2004] UKHL 23
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
FTT decision involved no material error of law. The Tribunal’s findings were within a reasonable range, and adequately explained. The FTT didn't err in not finding that DWP's receipt of data via the RTI feed constituted 'real-time' knowledge. The chain of causation was not broken by DWP's actions, as the Claimant had a duty to report.