Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date her department will respond to the Civil Service Pension enquiry from Hon. Member for St Albans dated 25 August 2026, reference to Case Reference DC59018.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise that Capita’s performance regarding correspondence and query resolution, including responses to Members of Parliament, has been poor. We are holding Capita firmly to account to improve turnaround times and clear backlogs. We have implemented weekly calls with directors at Capita to identify correspondence blockers and ensure correspondence is responded to in the timeliest and most accurate way possible.
To assist Members of Parliament acting on behalf of their constituents, the Cabinet Office established virtual surgeries to provide a direct route for Parliamentary offices to secure updates. As of 16 October, we have delivered over 1,300 surgeries for more than 320 Parliamentary offices.
In relation to the specific enquiries from the Hon. Member for St Albans, I understand that these were submitted directly to the scheme administrator, Capita, rather than my department. It is our understanding that Capita has very recently responded to one of the named enquiries, and are intending to respond to the other as soon as possible.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date her department will respond to the Civil Service Pension enquiry from Hon. Member for St Albans dated 27 July 2026, Case Reference DC54275.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We recognise that Capita’s performance regarding correspondence and query resolution, including responses to Members of Parliament, has been poor. We are holding Capita firmly to account to improve turnaround times and clear backlogs. We have implemented weekly calls with directors at Capita to identify correspondence blockers and ensure correspondence is responded to in the timeliest and most accurate way possible.
To assist Members of Parliament acting on behalf of their constituents, the Cabinet Office established virtual surgeries to provide a direct route for Parliamentary offices to secure updates. As of 16 October, we have delivered over 1,300 surgeries for more than 320 Parliamentary offices.
In relation to the specific enquiries from the Hon. Member for St Albans, I understand that these were submitted directly to the scheme administrator, Capita, rather than my department. It is our understanding that Capita has very recently responded to one of the named enquiries, and are intending to respond to the other as soon as possible.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made any assessment of the financial viability of existing materials recovery facility operators after the implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where in-scope containers are disposed of through household recycling, local authorities will continue managing these materials through existing waste arrangements. The Deposit Management Organisation will work with local authorities to consider ways they can maximise return of materials, and to ensure effective operation of the scheme.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Deposit Return Scheme, whether (a) local authorities and (b) Material Recovery Facilities operators will receive producer funding for (i) collecting, (ii) sorting and (iii) recycling containers in scope of the scheme but placed in household recycling collections.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where in-scope containers are disposed of through household recycling, local authorities will continue managing these materials through existing waste arrangements. The Deposit Management Organisation will work with local authorities to consider ways they can maximise return of materials, and to ensure effective operation of the scheme.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the consultancy spend is by government department, compared with previous years.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Each government department publishes details of their consultancy expenditure within their individual Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the IOPC administers hardships loans for their retired employees who are currently waiting for their delayed Civil Service Pension to be processed 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)
We can confirm that, as of 5 October 2026, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) does offer a hardship loan scheme for recent retirees experiencing hardship due to Capita’s delays.
Eligibility for a hardship loan is restricted to active scheme members who have either retired or partially retired directly from a Civil Service employer since 1 January 2025 and face payment delays. Because these bridging funds are legally classified as employee-employer loans, they cannot be extended to deferred members, surviving spouses, or dependants due to the lack of an active employment link.
Deferred groups and vulnerable dependants are instead directed to Capita for urgent internal prioritisation via Cabinet Office Pensions Recovery Taskforce-monitored workflows. We are working tightly with internal teams to ensure that those who cannot access a loan have their core files fast-tracked through the system via our triage managers.
We have also established dedicated virtual surgeries for MPs and caseworkers to escalate urgent and exceptional cases directly with a Capita caseworker.
Regular updates on the work to recover the service will continue to be posted on the Civil Service Pensions member portal and on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Statement and Budget Report of 28 October 2026, how many of the 70,000 businesses which have been taken out of paying business rates altogether are (a) shops, (b) pubs, (c) restaurants, (d) gyms and (e) other businesses.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The government is taking around 70,000 more high street businesses out of business rates through an increase of the Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England from 1 April 2027.
This means half of all RHL properties approximately an additional 45,000 shops, 3,500 pubs, 3,900 restaurants, 600 gyms, 2,200 cafes and 1,700 hairdressers and beauty salons - will pay no business rates.
HM Treasury does not hold data on the additional beneficiaries split by local authority area.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Financial Statement and Budget Report of 28 October, if he will publish a breakdown of the 70,000 businesses which have been taken out of paying business rates altogether, by local authority area.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The government is taking around 70,000 more high street businesses out of business rates through an increase of the Small Business Rates Relief thresholds for retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England from 1 April 2027.
This means half of all RHL properties approximately an additional 45,000 shops, 3,500 pubs, 3,900 restaurants, 600 gyms, 2,200 cafes and 1,700 hairdressers and beauty salons - will pay no business rates.
HM Treasury does not hold data on the additional beneficiaries split by local authority area.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a Lasting Power of Attorney document can be used for the purposes of authorising an executor access to a deceased’s pensioner's Civil Service Pension portal.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A Lasting Power of Attorney is valid only during an individual’s lifetime. As it ceases upon death, it cannot be used to authorise access to a deceased member’s Civil Service Pension record.
The Civil Service Pension Scheme portal does not have a facility for third-party access to a member’s record. However, executors or personal representatives can obtain the information required to administer the estate directly from Civil Service Pensions. To do so, they must provide proof of identity and legal authority, such as a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration, or a copy of the Will.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total central government capital growth and infrastructure funding per capita allocated was to (a) Mayoral Combined Authorities with integrated settlements and (b) non-mayoral local transport and highway authorities in the latest financial year.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The allocations for capital funding which is devolved through the integrated settlement for financial years 2026/2027 to 2029/2030 are set out on Gov.UK - Integrated Settlement funds for 2026 to 2030 - GOV.UK.
Non-Mayoral local transport authorities’ capital allocations for the Local Transport Grant for financial years 2026/27 to 2029/30 are set out on Gov.UK - Capital allocations: 2026 to 2027 and 2029 to 2030 - GOV.UK