Civil Service Pensions

Baroness Nichols of Selby Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

My noble and learned friend is right. I do not have that information in front of me because this is a combination of government contracts and public service contracts, but while the £9.9 million is a first stepping stone for not meeting the milestones that it promised us, the noble and learned Lord may be interested to look at the profits warnings that Capita issued this week.

[Baroness Nichols of Selby (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the most important thing is for those people who are waiting to get their pensions now? Everything else, such as the compensation, can be dealt with afterwards. It is about the people who are waiting now. As a public sector worker of almost 43 years, I am fortunately not in the Civil Service Pension Scheme, but am in the local government scheme, and I had my pension within four weeks. Maybe there are some lessons to be learned, which could help the Civil Service, by looking at what other pension schemes do.

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I would never disagree with my noble friend—she scares me on a good day—because she is a fabulous trade union official who has fought her members’ corner for a long time. She is absolutely right. When I have been at the Dispatch Box discussing these issues, I have been asked many times about how we got here, what is happening next and what is going to happen to Capita. Those are all valid questions that need to be answered, but the priority must be to get the money out the door, especially to those who have faced bereavement and ill health retirement. It is the very least we owe them.