Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34653 on Royal Mail: Workplace Pensions, whether any of the 906 tax free lump sum overpayments in 2024 related to retirement in previous years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Whilst all of the 906 overpayments happened in 2024, the impacted members retired across a number of years.
Of the 906 cases, 163 retired in 2024, 597 in 2023; 5 in 2022), 3 in 2021, 4 in 2020, 2 in 2019, and 8 in 2018. The remaining 124 cases retired before 2018.
The Cabinet Office has worked closely with the scheme administrator, to review all other processes in relation to the administration of the scheme, to ensure that they are documented and accurately reflect the contractual requirements and scheme rules, to deliver the best possible service to members and minimise errors.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34653 on Royal Mail: Workplace Pensions, how many of the 906 overpayments of tax free lump sums in 2024 have been resolved by (a) payment in full, (b) part payment as full settlement or (c) written off.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Out of the 906 miscalculated overpayments in 2024, in respect of the second bite overpayment (742 members) we can confirm that 248 overpayments have been recovered in full; 494 are in recovery by way of monthly deductions to their pension, and 4 members have yet to have their recovery method agreed, and there is ongoing correspondence to finalise this.
In addition, all 160 duplicate pension increase members are in recovery. Where members were unable to return the overpayment in full, monthly deductions from their pension were put in place. There were no part payments or payments written off.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34653 on Royal Mail: Workplace Pensions, how many of the 906 retirees effected by tax free lump sum overpayments in 2024 have been offered (a) compensation or (b) a reduction in repayment.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The scheme administrator, Capita, has not compensated or agreed a reduction of payment figures for any of the 906 cases affected by overpayments.
However, the scheme administrator has taken steps to support these members. This includes arranging monthly deductions to be taken from the member’s pension in payment where they were unable to repay their overpayment in full. Affected members are also able to contact Capita to discuss alternative repayment arrangements using the helpline number or dedicated email address.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March to Question 34653 on Royal Mail: Workplace Pensions, what the total value of the 906 tax free lump sum overpayments in 2024 was.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The total value of the overpayments in relation to the 906 lump sums miscalculated in 2024 is £1,325,340.78.
The Cabinet Office has worked closely with the scheme administrator, Capita, to review all other processes in relation to the administration of the scheme, to ensure that they are documented and accurately reflect the contractual requirements and scheme rules, to deliver the best possible service to members and minimise errors.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in (a) the EU or (b) individual EU member nations on permitting UK citizens reciprocal rights to visit the (i) EU or (ii) any EU member nation for periods of up to 180 days.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMG officials and Ministers regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third country nationals. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has had discussions with his Schengen Area counterparts on exempting UK citizens from the restrictions on visiting Schengen Area countries.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the EU allows for travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. This may require a visa and/or permit. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on the number of times Capita has made overpayments in relation to (a) tax-free lump sums and (b) regular pension payments for people taking their pension benefits from the Royal Mail Statutory Pensions Scheme following a calculation error in each year since 2018.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Capita, the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme administrator, has made the following overpayments:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 to 3/3/2025 |
(a)tax-free lump sums | 4 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 906 | 0 |
(b)regular pension payments | 327 | 617 | 137 | 81 | 90 | 92 | 1 |
Capita has carried out several data correction exercises which required member benefits to be rectified. These data exercises account for the increased number of overpayments in certain years.
The earliest data Capita holds is from March 2019.
In terms of support, Capita contacts all impacted members and provides a full update including the reason for the overpayment and the corrective action that will take place. All members are encouraged to contact the Capita team to discuss the error and agree on the appropriate recovery actions. Where possible a repayment timeline will be agreed directly with the member which will consider their personal circumstances and affordability. Members are also guided through the review process that they can follow and are kept informed of any decisions made during this process and the next steps that are available to them.
There is a robust process in place to manage the performance of this contract.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will launch a consultation on extending the eligibility for the Elizabeth Emblem medal to people who are left severely injured and medically retired in the course of undertaking eligible public service.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government recognises the invaluable contribution of emergency service workers to the people of the United Kingdom. Those that lose their lives as a result of their duties are now rightly honoured with the award of the Elizabeth Emblem.
There are no current plans to alter the eligibility criteria for the Elizabeth Emblem along the lines suggested. The Government is happy to consider the case for any new medal or award, subject to comprehensive assessment across relevant departments. We continue to recognise the outstanding achievements of emergency service colleagues through both our existing honours and gallantry systems, and we would encourage people to make nominations.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to (a) publish on the gov.uk website and (b) keep updated a list of current Parliamentary Private Secretaries.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries as of September 2024 is published on gov.uk and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-parliamentary-private-secretaries-pps-september-2024
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to seek negotiations with the EU on extending the duration of Schengen Area visas for UK citizens travelling to the EU for longer than 90 days.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Both the UK and the EU allow for visa-free short-term travel in line with their arrangements for Third Country Nationals. The UK allows EU citizens short-term visa-free travel for up to six months. Meanwhile, the Schengen Borders Code allows for Third Country Nationals to travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; this is standard for third countries travelling to the EU. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.