Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reviewing the law on unfitness to plead.

Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Government agrees there are merits to reviewing the law on unfitness to plead and has accepted the majority of the Law Commission’s recommendations for reform.

The Government is considering how best to take forward these reforms alongside other related areas of criminal responsibility currently under review. It is important that we do this in a coherent and evidence-based way, so that any changes are workable, avoid inconsistency and maintain public confidence.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of including driving instructors under the position of trust law.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

This Government is committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse. We have robust legislation in this area, including offences to tackle the abuse of a specified “position of trust” in relation to a child under 18, which apply even in cases of consensual sexual activity. We keep the law under review, including considering whether additional positions should be added to the legislation. We will carefully consider any evidence in relation to additional positions, including driving instructors, that is provided.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps she has taken to ensure retired civil servants receive pension a) quotes and b) payments 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. 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.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels

by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. 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.

To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are being deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed, at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.

We have established a new, dedicated virtual surgery process for MPs and their offices. Facilitated by the Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce, these sessions run every weekday (Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm) and offer 45-minute slots for one-to-one updates.

We have already had good uptake of these sessions and if your team has not already, I would encourage them to book a session via the booking link here:

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/t/csps-mp-surgeries/

Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations