Oral Answers to Questions

Chi Onwurah Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Satvir Kaur]

The hon. Gentleman is completely right: those who have given a lifetime of service expect and deserve better. The Cabinet Office has held Capita to account robustly, using all commercial levers. Capita has a strict end-of-June deadline. If it fails to meet that deadline, we will consider all options. With your agreement, Mr Speaker, the Paymaster General intends to make a statement to the House about this issue at the end of the month.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

My constituent’s father, who worked all his life in public service, died tragically a year ago. Capita is withholding from his family the provision that he thought would make them secure. Another constituent was having his pension paid until Capita took over, and now he is receiving nothing. It is a tragic shambles, but the problem is not rocket science; it is the IT system. If Capita cannot make this work in the time that it has already had, it should surely not be given the chance to do it any longer, and perhaps its other Government contracts should be reconsidered.

[Satvir Kaur]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the situation is unacceptable. If she contacts me about her constituents’ cases, I will be more than happy to take them up. As I have said, Capita has a strict deadline at the end of June. The Government have been robust in holding it to account. We will use all our commercial levers, and all options will be considered. After June, and with Mr Speaker’s permission, my colleague the Paymaster General intends make a statement to the House. As with the Royal Mail contract, we will not hesitate to hold Capita to account and let it feel the consequences of its actions.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Frith]

The Government’s preparations for digital ID will ensure that all existing routes for accessing public services will remain in place. The preparation for digital ID, which will make digital access to public services easier, as I described earlier, will be built with the highest trusted status and will be road-tested by the public as we prepare it, design it and then build it. Verification is vital if we are to ensure that the guiding principles of digital ID—being trusted, inclusive and of use from day one—are seen and not just told.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

The Trump Administration’s decision to deny access to Anthropic’s most powerful AI models to all foreigners—including the British state—has emphasised concerns over technology sovereignty. Will the Minister ensure that as part of the UK-EU summit, our leading technology sector works closely with European Union allies to ensure that we have greater competition and resilience in our technology stack?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

There are a number of areas where additional work with the European Union will be in our national interest. One of the great advantages of having annual UK-EU summits is that precisely those issues can be brought up.