Perth and Kinross Council is owed £2.3 million having overpaid some people’s housing benefit.
It is understood the situation may have come about because claimants failed to notify the council of a change in circumstances resulting in them receiving an overpayment of housing benefit.
Cash-strapped Perth and Kinross Council recently revealed a projected £3.38m overspend.
Theoretically, if this money was recouped that figure could be slashed to just over £1m.
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed £152m of overpaid housing benefit needs to be paid back in Scotland.
A spokesperson for Perth and Kinross Council said: “As at June 30, 2019, the outstanding balance of overpaid housing benefit was £2.3 million.
“Overpayment of housing benefit could occur for a variety of reasons. The council takes a proactive approach to minimising overpayments, however, in the event that these occur, every endeavour is made to recover.
“During 2018/2019, £894,000 of overpayments was identified and £769,000 was recovered.
"£110,00 was written off for approved reasons; also in line with DWP recommendations.
Further information about minimising overpayments can be found at www.pkc.gov.uk/hbchange ”
A spokesperson for the DWP said: “It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure housing benefit claims are correct.
“We continue to work closely with them to help identify and recover overpayments, and the value of outstanding overpayments is decreasing as more people claim Universal Credit.”
