Chamber and committees

Social Security Scotland is committed to recovering overpaid benefits wherever it is reasonable and economical to do so, in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Since 2018, approximately £7.7 million in overpaid benefits has been written off, which represents an estimated 0.1% of the total lifetime expenditure on benefits administered by the agency. For comparison, the equivalent figure for write-offs relating to Scottish debt managed by the Department for Work and Pensions stands at £42.2 million or 0.3%.

These write-offs have occurred for a range of reasons, including bereavement, where there is no equity in the client’s estate to enable recovery, and small overpayments under £65, which are not economical to pursue.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) published its most recent independent forecasts on 25 June 2025, which sets out its latest five-year economic and fiscal forecasts to 2030-31.

The publication can be found on the SFC’s website: Scotland’s Economic and Fiscal Forecasts Update – June 2025 | Scottish Fiscal Commission.

Based on those forecasts and Scottish Government’s estimates of Young Carer Grant and Job Start Payment, expenditure on the range of Social Security Assistance provided by the Scottish Government is forecast to increase from £6.8 billion this year, to £9.3 billion by 2030-31, as shown in the following table.

Social Security Scotland has established a Debt Management Service to oversee the recovery of overpayments, ensuring that recovered funds are redistributed in line with Scottish public spending priorities. Recovery processes are carried out with respect for clients’ dignity.

While internal systems are in place to track and prevent overpayments, detailed statistics—such as the number of overpayments or the age profile of debts—are not routinely published. As such, we are unable to provide further breakdowns.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40280 on 16 September 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers. I will give careful consideration to NHS Highland’s response.

The decision taken in 2016 by NHS Highland to move to a midwife-led unit at Caithness General Hospital was made on the basis of safety. This decision was taken in line with NHS Boards’ responsibility to design and deliver services which deliver safe, high-quality care to meet the needs of their local populations and geographies. Safe maternity care delivered as close to home as practicable is vital and the safety of pregnant women and babies must be central to this.

The model of care in Caithness is the same as that which operates across all rural areas in the NHS Highland region. NHS Highland understands the need to continually review its service models to ensure they are safe, effective and fit for the future.

We know many people are still waiting too long and this is not good enough. We are determined to do more and our Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care, with more than £110 million allocated to health boards, including over £6.6 million for NHS Lanarkshire, to help tackle the longest waits for appointments and procedures.

The funding has been assigned to specialty areas for the year ahead where it can have the greatest impact against the longest waits – this includes £25 million for trauma and orthopaedics, £21 million for imaging, £14 million for cancer treatment and more than £12 million for ophthalmology.

It will also support delivery of planned care for patients across Scotland, to increase capacity and address backlogs of treatment as we work towards achieving the 18 weeks Referral to Treatment (RTT) standard.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-40280 and S6W-40281 on 16 September 2025. I will give careful consideration to NHS Highland’s response. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Scottish Enterprise recently provided a £7.4 million Research and Development grant and a £1.8 million Training Aid grant to BAE Systems to help them maximise skills development and support the establishment of a collegiate training facility which will provide access to the broader industry through the Applied Shipbuilding Academy, which is overseen by BAE Systems as custodians of the Glasgow shipyards.

The Scottish Government do not currently provide means-tested benefits, although certain benefits, notably 5-family payments, are targeted to those in receipt of relevant qualifying reserved benefits, and Carer Support Payment is available to eligible unpaid carers with an income below a threshold of £196 per week. Over 80% of devolved benefits expenditure is currently provided to disabled people to help them meet the costs for their disabilities.

Details of defence programme contractual arrangements, including associated apprenticeships, are a matter for individual companies. Information on contracts awarded through the UK Government Ministry of Defence are published and publicly available.

 In Scotland, we have built a radically different system to change the way disability benefits are delivered. We ensure that the impact of fluctuating health conditions like PMDD have on people’s lives are fully taken into account when someone applies for a social security benefit.

For example, we have removed anxiety inducing and unreliable private-sector assessments which only offer a snapshot of an individual’s needs and fail people with fluctuating conditions like PMDD. Our person-centred approach ensures that the full impacts of a long-term health condition, including the impacts of pain and fatigue, are taken into consideration during the decision-making process.

The Sottish Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the social security system. We therefore welcome this comprehensive report and will carefully consider its findings alongside the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment, which Scottish Ministers are committed to responding to by January 2026.