Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the value is of payments withheld from Capita in connection with its administration of the CSPS; and what conditions must be met for the release of those payments.
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.
The conditions for releasing the withheld payments require the completion of specific deliverables. Each deliverable within the applicable milestone must be achieved and formally signed off by the authority.
The specific financial values of commercial transactions remain commercially confidential in relation to Capita and I am unable to disclose the figures, but I can confirm that the Cabinet Office has withheld significant transition milestone payments due to missed deliverables. Although contractual performance data is generally considered commercially sensitive, in this instance, information regarding MyCSP and recovered amounts is already in the public domain via submissions to the Committee of Public Accounts. In these submissions, it is noted that over the last five financial years, the Department has recovered a total of £247,893. Wider financial adjustments, such as routine overpayment corrections or contribution reconciliations, form part of the broader operational accounting of the scheme and are not categorised as direct departmental recoveries from the administrator.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost is of the recovery programme in relation to the Civil Service Pension Scheme being administered by Capita.
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.
The conditions for releasing the withheld payments require the completion of specific deliverables. Each deliverable within the applicable milestone must be achieved and formally signed off by the authority.
The specific financial values of commercial transactions remain commercially confidential in relation to Capita and I am unable to disclose the figures, but I can confirm that the Cabinet Office has withheld significant transition milestone payments due to missed deliverables. Although contractual performance data is generally considered commercially sensitive, in this instance, information regarding MyCSP and recovered amounts is already in the public domain via submissions to the Committee of Public Accounts. In these submissions, it is noted that over the last five financial years, the Department has recovered a total of £247,893. Wider financial adjustments, such as routine overpayment corrections or contribution reconciliations, form part of the broader operational accounting of the scheme and are not categorised as direct departmental recoveries from the administrator.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with businesses shortlisted under the second Hydrogen Allocation Round on progression to the Invite to Offer stage of negotiations before the end of 2026.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ Ministers and officials have met with developers shortlisted in the second Hydrogen Allocation Round on a case-by-case basis to discuss their progress and any issues they may be facing. Guidance on the allocation round process was provided to developers in the HAR2 Invite to Offer Broadcast meeting in November 2025. We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that the time taken for hydrogen policy and funding announcements does not reduce private sector investment into the domestic hydrogen sector.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We understand the importance of providing clarity to businesses across the hydrogen sector. We plan to publish the renewed Hydrogen Strategy, alongside a package of other hydrogen policy documents, as soon as possible.
In relation to the second hydrogen allocation round, we are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage as soon as possible
We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that timeline certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the level of UK content in projects shortlisted under the second Hydrogen Allocation Round on the economy and job creation.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hydrogen was identified as a frontier technology in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan for its potential to drive economic growth, create high-quality jobs, and build the industries of the future. Projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round are expected to unlock around £400 million of private investment and create over 600 direct jobs. We welcome the hydrogen industry’s voluntary ambition for 50% local content and are exploring how hydrogen allocation rounds can go further to support jobs, skills and UK suppliers.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she will confirm that £836 million in cash terms was forecast to be spent on Equitable Life With-Profits Annuitants at the outset of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme; and that a discount rate of 4.4% was applied to reach the allocation of £625m for With-Profits Annuitants.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2010 the Liberal Democrat Conservative coalition government chose to allocate up to £1.5 billion to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, and the Scheme has been fully wound down and closed since 2016. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants and the Scheme is on track to distribute the remainder of the £1.5 billion as planned.
Of the £1.5 billion, £775 million was allocated to be paid as lump sums to with profits non-annuitants and £625 million allocated to WPAs to be paid annually for the duration of the annuity. This includes a £100 million contingency fund to ensure there is provision for annuitants, should they live longer than their actuarial forecast and brings the total allocated to WPAs up to £725 million.
Asked by: Charlie Maynard (Liberal Democrat - Witney)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Making Tax Digital on small businesses.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The government has worked with taxpayers, representative bodies and software developers to ensure Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax works well for businesses of all types and sizes.
MTD will help businesses and landlords keep on top of their tax affairs. It places small businesses on a more digital footing, with digital tools helping to reduce errors and making annual tax returns easier.
The government has worked with the software industry to ensure a wide range of options are available to suit different needs and budgets, including low-cost and free software, supporting those with the simplest affairs. Many products are designed for users who manage their own tax affairs or those new to digital tools.