Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to issue a Safeguarding Direction to protect the full width of the original track bed of the former Lewes to Uckfield rail line to facilitate its future use; and whether they will give further consideration to re-examining the potential value of the former Lewes to Uckfield rail line.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The case to build or restore railway services over this alignment should first be assessed and supported by the local transport authority, who should relate the proposal to growth, jobs and homes in the area. As part of that assessment, whether the previous route is available for reuse and to what extent should be assessed at a high level. The local transport authority can then take a view about the practicability of using the route. My Department would only safeguard the route if there was a reasonable long-term prospect of the scheme having a business case and being funded.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in the provisions relating to the Capita contract, sufficient scope was made for the transfer of personal data relating to civil service pensions scheme.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Cabinet Office ensured that the contract with Capita provided a comprehensive scope for the transfer of all necessary data. Throughout the two-year transition period, the Cabinet Office, MyCSP, and Capita worked in close partnership to monitor data-sharing protocols. This approach ensured all of the scheme data, including personal data, was successfully transferred to Capita on the go-live of their administration of the scheme.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether, in relation to the operation of the civil service pension scheme, loss of data has been reported to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Cabinet Office maintains strict oversight of data security within the Civil Service Pension Scheme. No incidents of data loss have been identified or reported. As no data breach has occurred, the Department has had no requirement to inform the Information Commissioner's Office

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Capita pensions management contract requires a streamlined process for emails from claimants to go directly to the relevant case, rather than having to be processed by a separate team.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Capita, the pension scheme administrator, provides a dedicated 'Contact Us' facility within the member portal, which utilises some automated sifting to categorise and direct inquiries. This process allows for both automated allocation and targeted manual review to ensure that correspondence is accurately routed to the appropriate specialist teams for resolution.

To further streamline the member experience, Capita is currently rolling out enhanced online tracking functionality. This will allow members to view the real-time progress of their retirement cases directly, reducing the requirement for manual correspondence and providing a more transparent, self-service digital journey. This functionality is in the process of being rolled out to members.

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