Joshua Reynolds
Main Page: Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)Department Debates - View all Joshua Reynolds's debates with the Cabinet Office
Civil Service Pensions
Joshua Reynolds Excerpts(3 days, 4 hours ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Sally Jameson
I am sorry to hear of Kathy’s experience. What has happened to her and many scheme members up and down the country is not right.
As I have said, we will not be able to publish the audit report in full for legal and commercial reasons, but we will provide it confidentially to the PAC and PACAC for their scrutiny. The remedial adviser’s report recommended the rectification plan that we have put in place. That has only just been put into place. In the coming weeks, we will monitor whether it is working. If it is not, we will take further steps. Nothing is off the table.
Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)
Stuart is 83. He lives in a care home in my constituency, which his pension pays for, but that pension stopped for four months over the summer, and even after my constituency office intervened he has had less than a quarter of those arrears paid back.
Anna, another of my constituents, is in her 80s. She has just come out of hospital, and she is owed a staggering 17 years’ worth of widow’s pension. In July, Capita told me that the payment would be made within two weeks. In August, it said that it had no notes on file from that July meeting. In September, it told me that payment would be made within 10 days. On the 15th of this month, it said that it was still awaiting human authorisation. Last Friday, I was told that four members of Capita’s staff were working directly full time on her case. Would the Minister like to join me this Friday at 11 o’clock for my next weekly Capita casework call to try to ensure that Anna finally gets some of those 17 years’ worth of pension payments?
Sally Jameson
The situation that the hon. Member highlights for his constituents is totally unacceptable. I understand why he is so angry about it; I am, too, as I am about so many of the cases we have heard about. I am not sure whether I can make 11 am on Friday, but I will follow up after the statement to see if we can get any further progress.