Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which government Department will be responsible for managing the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA).
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister announced a series of changes to the Machinery of Government on 21 July. This included the Public Sector Fraud Authority’s (PSFA) transfer to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - whilst retaining its sponsorship by HM Treasury.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the additional cost to the public purse arising from the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan since February 2026, broken down by (a) additional civil servants deployed, (b) external advisers, (c) contractors and (d) other costs.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones.
Capita has systematically defaulted on its major operational recovery commitments. They failed to meet critical transition milestones, including the end of April 2026 target to clear inherited payment arrears, the end of May 2026 milestone to bring approximately 2,200 sensitive divorce cases within contractual service levels, and the critical milestone of a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026.
Capita submitted a formal Rectification Plan in July 2026, and the Remedial Advisor Grant Thornton was appointed shortly thereafter at Capita’s expense. Their work will assist the Cabinet Office to test the validity and deliverability of the Plan, and to conduct a technical systems review. We expect to receive this audit information in early October, which will inform the Government's decision on next steps by mid-to-late October.
Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.
On additional costs, regarding a) additional civil servants deployed, total projected Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce and surge support operational costs up to the end of Financial Year 2026-27 stand at £12.5 million.
Costs relating to (b) external advisers, (c) contractors and (d) other costs, are subject to a formal commercial reconciliation exercise that is actively underway to recover Government surge team costs directly from Capita, and the Government has already withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment she has made of the performance of Capita against each of the milestones contained in the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan since February 2026; and what proportion of those milestones have been met on time.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones.
Capita has systematically defaulted on its major operational recovery commitments. They failed to meet critical transition milestones, including the end of April 2026 target to clear inherited payment arrears, the end of May 2026 milestone to bring approximately 2,200 sensitive divorce cases within contractual service levels, and the critical milestone of a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026.
Capita submitted a formal Rectification Plan in July 2026, and the Remedial Advisor Grant Thornton was appointed shortly thereafter at Capita’s expense. Their work will assist the Cabinet Office to test the validity and deliverability of the Plan, and to conduct a technical systems review. We expect to receive this audit information in early October, which will inform the Government's decision on next steps by mid-to-late October.
Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.
On additional costs, regarding a) additional civil servants deployed, total projected Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce and surge support operational costs up to the end of Financial Year 2026-27 stand at £12.5 million.
Costs relating to (b) external advisers, (c) contractors and (d) other costs, are subject to a formal commercial reconciliation exercise that is actively underway to recover Government surge team costs directly from Capita, and the Government has already withheld £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what digital devices are issued to Ministers as part of their roles; and who is responsible for keeping an inventory of devices.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As part of their roles, Ministers in the Cabinet Office are issued standard Official Windows or MacBook Laptops and a standard iPhone or Android Official device. In some circumstances a tablet device may also be requested. These devices are managed by the internal Cabinet Office Digital teams, who are also responsible for maintaining the assets & inventory of all end user issued devices.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Cost of Living Taskforce will publish its first recommendations.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The taskforce will look to address the long term issues facing families, many of which have too often fallen through the cracks. Based in the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the taskforce will be fully integrated with No10 and across government to deliver the change the public rightly expect to see.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what criteria will be used to identify communities requiring the greatest support through the Community Renewal Taskforce.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Following the government’s commitment to deliver good growth in every part of the United Kingdom, the Place Regeneration Taskforce will deliver community renewal by working with local government to improve everyday experience and serving communities with locally-driven solutions.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role elected local councils will have in determining the priorities of the Community Renewal Taskforce.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Delivering on the government’s commitment to delivering good growth in every part of the United Kingdom, the Place Regeneration Taskforce will support community renewal by working directly with local leaders, including local councils, through continuous engagement to improve people’s everyday experience of where they live.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an estimate of the costs relating to the establishment of Number 10 in the north.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No10 North is central to the Prime Minister’s commitment to get good growth in every postcode, drive devolution, and bring Government closer to the communities it serves. Mayors, employers, councils, and public services, will work in equal partnership with central government so that decisions about this country’s economic future are no longer only taken in Westminster. The cost of establishing No 10 North is covered by existing departmental budgets. Staffing costs are regularly published as part of the Cabinet Office’s Organogram, available on gov.uk. The Prime Minister splits his time between Downing Street and No10 North as part of his commitment to making government work for every part of the country. Further details were made available on the Government's Machinery of Government changes, including the establishment of No10 North, in the First Secretary of State's Statement on the 02 September, Official Report, Column 173-196.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many bereavement cases being administered by Capita are currently more than (a) 30, (b) 60, (c) 100 and (d) 150 days old.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
There are currently 20,897 outstanding retirement quotations, representing 18,615 unique members. Individual members may have multiple records where they have separate periods of pensionable service or duplicate requests under review. Complete and reliable retirement date information is not held across all outstanding cases; determining how many members have passed their intended retirement date would require a manual case-by-case review.
The age breakdown of outstanding bereavement cases being administered by Capita is as follows:
(a) 31 to 60 days old: 7,781
(b) 61 to 100 days old: 2,705
(c) 101 to 150 days old: 2,792
(d) More than 150 days old: 1,107
(Note: Cumulatively, this equates to 14,385 cases over 30 days old; 6,604 cases over 60 days old; and 3,899 cases over 100 days old).
Current service levels are unacceptable, and the Government is taking robust action to hold Capita to account. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost of preparing Ministers for Westminster Hall Debates across all government departments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Cabinet Office does not hold this information.