Gareth Bacon
Main Page: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)Department Debates - View all Gareth Bacon's debates with the Cabinet Office
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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Nick Thomas-Symonds
I absolutely agree with the hon. Gentleman on the importance of teaching the campaign for women’s suffrage. I should also update him, seeing as he has asked the question, that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is overseeing a significant history project akin to the Official History Programme covering the period of the troubles.
Gareth Bacon (Orpington) (Con)
Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Satvir Kaur)
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions after a lifetime of service is completely unacceptable. The Government are overseeing a robust recovery plan for the service and are ensuring that support is available to help those impacted. My right hon. Friend the Paymaster General has met the chief executive of Capita to set out what the Government expect, and we will do all we can to hold Capita to account to deliver the high standards that people deserve.
Gareth Bacon
I thank the Minister for her answer because, like many hon. Members on both sides of the House, I have been getting correspondence from former civil servants whose payments have been excessively delayed since Capita took over. I note what the Minister says about the Secretary of State meeting the chief executive of Capita, but would she commit to a full review of the service that Capita has provided so far? Will she also commit to making either a verbal or a written statement to the House about the actions being taken to make this service work better?
Satvir Kaur
The priority right now is to ensure that the robust recovery plan is completed and that we get a normal service as quickly as possible. Of course, we will continue to update the House.