Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Capita has hit its target to restore service levels for the most urgent Civil Service Pension Scheme cases.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Capita’s administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of backlogs in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what powers he has to improve Capita’s administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
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. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the real value of Infected Blood compensation payments that have not yet been paid compared to compensation payments that have already been paid.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
The Government has established a tariff-based compensation scheme, in line with the Inquiry’s recommendations. A tariff-based scheme ensures that applicants have certainty about the total amount of compensation they will receive from the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA), regardless of when their application is processed. Consistently uprating compensation packages annually would not be consistent with this approach.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for what reason the National Procurement Policy Statement exempts the Ministry of Defence defence and security contracts from the priority on delivering social value.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Defence and security contracts under the previous procurement regime were exempt from social value requirements under Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 06/20. This meant contracts let by Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies in scope of the Public Contracts Regulations (2015) only, excluding those covered by the Defence and Security Public Contracts Regulations 2011 (DSPCR).
From 24 February 2025, Procurement Policy Note 002: Taking account of social value in the award of contracts which sets out how to take account of social value in the award of central government contracts, will not be mandated for the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in relation to defence and security contracts as defined by section 7 of the Procurement Act 2023 and exempt procurements.
However, MOD delivery teams will have the flexibility to include Social Value criteria in defence and security or exempt contracts if relevant to the subject matter of the contract, proportionate, fair and non-discriminatory. This will be considered by individual MOD Delivery Teams on a case-by-case basis. All other MOD contracts that are in scope of the Procurement Act 2023 and not classified as a defence and security contract will be required to comply with the National procurement Policy Statement and PPN 002.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing compensation to infected blood victims before the publication of the full report of the Inquiry.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Government has accepted there is a moral case for compensation in respect of infected blood and has made interim compensation payments to recognise the urgent need of those registered on the existing support schemes. The Infected Blood Inquiry’s second interim report provides detailed recommendations on the framework for compensation which the Government is carefully considering.
Asked by: Caroline Dinenage (Conservative - Gosport)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to recommendation 14 of the Infected Blood Inquiry's Second Interim Report on compensation, published on 5 April 2023, when he plans to appoint a chair to an Arms Length Body to administer the compensation scheme to eligible applicants.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
As set out in the debate held on Thursday 22nd June, the setting up of an arms-length body is under consideration by the Government. The complexities and implications of any delivery mechanism must be fully understood ahead of committing to a timetable for appointments.