Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an estimate of the number of Transitional Support Loans provided to pensioners in arrears; and what the source of that funding is.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over 5,000 retirees are not currently in receipt of their pension payments, though many have received their lump sum payments, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time.
To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued over £24.8 million in Transitional Support Loans to over 4,429 members, alongside interest-free bridging loans ranging from £5,000 to £20,000. Members will fully repay these bridging loans upon receipt of their formal pension payments.
Existing civil servants who have partially retired or a civil servant who retired from 1 January 2025, can contact their employer to access the transitional support loan. The provision of these loans will continue while delays persist.
Pension scheme members not in scope of this loan scheme but who are at risk of experiencing financial hardship due to the delayed payment of their pension, should contact Capita to highlight the financial impact of these delays. Capita will then prioritise resolution of these cases.
Exact costs are subject to an ongoing commercial reconciliation as we comprehensively evaluate the latest service data. While specific operational figures remain commercially sensitive at this stage of the recovery plan, we continue to use all available commercial levers to manage performance and hold the administrator to account.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate she has made of the cost of resolving Civil Service pension arrears.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over 5,000 retirees are not currently in receipt of their pension payments, though many have received their lump sum payments, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time.
To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued over £24.8 million in Transitional Support Loans to over 4,429 members, alongside interest-free bridging loans ranging from £5,000 to £20,000. Members will fully repay these bridging loans upon receipt of their formal pension payments.
Existing civil servants who have partially retired or a civil servant who retired from 1 January 2025, can contact their employer to access the transitional support loan. The provision of these loans will continue while delays persist.
Pension scheme members not in scope of this loan scheme but who are at risk of experiencing financial hardship due to the delayed payment of their pension, should contact Capita to highlight the financial impact of these delays. Capita will then prioritise resolution of these cases.
Exact costs are subject to an ongoing commercial reconciliation as we comprehensively evaluate the latest service data. While specific operational figures remain commercially sensitive at this stage of the recovery plan, we continue to use all available commercial levers to manage performance and hold the administrator to account.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many pensioners are affected by Civil Service pension arrears.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Over 5,000 retirees are not currently in receipt of their pension payments, though many have received their lump sum payments, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time.
To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued over £24.8 million in Transitional Support Loans to over 4,429 members, alongside interest-free bridging loans ranging from £5,000 to £20,000. Members will fully repay these bridging loans upon receipt of their formal pension payments.
Existing civil servants who have partially retired or a civil servant who retired from 1 January 2025, can contact their employer to access the transitional support loan. The provision of these loans will continue while delays persist.
Pension scheme members not in scope of this loan scheme but who are at risk of experiencing financial hardship due to the delayed payment of their pension, should contact Capita to highlight the financial impact of these delays. Capita will then prioritise resolution of these cases.
Exact costs are subject to an ongoing commercial reconciliation as we comprehensively evaluate the latest service data. While specific operational figures remain commercially sensitive at this stage of the recovery plan, we continue to use all available commercial levers to manage performance and hold the administrator to account.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 23rd June to question 8158 on the Lord Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney, if he can confirm whether these documents have been withheld at the request of the Metropolitan Police.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Government has available for disclosure, except those being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan police.
On the 1st June, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister outlined the need not to prejudice the ongoing investigation which prevents the government from answering questions relating to specific documents. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister outlined the broad categories the documents being withheld fall into: national security vetting material, conflict of interest process material and relevant internal correspondence with Peter Mandelson.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who is Chair of the Future of Work Committee.
Answered by Chris Ward
The full list of Cabinet committees and their membership is available on Gov.uk (List of Cabinet Committees and their membership - GOV.UK).
The Future of Work Committee was chaired by the former Deputy Prime Minister, and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. Exact changes are yet to be confirmed. Parliament will be updated on changes to Cabinet committees in the usual way before being published on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it is the Government's policy to pay (a) legal costs and (b) damages in relation to allegedly defamatory comments made by Ministers.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In line with the established practice under multiple administrations of all political colours, Ministers are provided with legal support and representation where matters relate to their conduct and responsibilities as a Minister.
Statistics relating to costs of settling claims, costs of legal support, and the number of times the provision of legal support has been authorised or declined are not maintained by the Cabinet Office. Funding for appropriate legal costs, including any out-of-court settlements, would be met by the relevant department's budget.
As set out in Chapter 6 of the Cabinet Manual, Ministers are indemnified by the Crown for any actions taken against them for things done or decisions made in the course of their ministerial duties. The indemnity covers the cost of defending the proceedings, as well as any costs or damages awarded against the minister. Decisions about whether to provide legal support are made by the relevant department’s Accounting Officer.
This reflects an important principle that Ministers should be able to carry out their official duties, supported by official advice, in a way which they see fit, without the risk of personal liability constraining their ability to take those official actions. Of course, Ministers remain accountable to Parliament and the wider public for their actions as a Minister.
It would have a chilling effect on public life if Ministers faced the prospect of personal financial harm from those seeking to pressure the Government through vexatious or hostile litigation (or the threat thereof).
More broadly, the principle of legal support from the public purse for official duties is not confined to government. I would observe that there is insurance available to MPs provided by the House at taxpayers’ expense, designed to protect hon. Members when carrying out parliamentary and constituency duties. This includes professional indemnity insurance that covers defamation. I also note that the House of Lords Commission is due this week to discuss the provision of professional indemnity insurance to peers.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many ministerial redundancy payments have been repaid since 2019; and by whom those repayments have been made.
Answered by John Glen
Departments are responsible for making salary and loss of office payments to their Ministers. This information would only be held by individual departments.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the letter of 14 November 2023 to the Prime Minister from the rt hon. member for Fareham, if the Prime Minister will publish the document with clear terms agreed in October 2022 referred to in that letter.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Senior politicians will routinely discuss policy priorities with colleagues during a party leadership election. The Prime Minister has set out his priorities to tackle illegal and legal migration.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 196542 on Death, what assessment the Government has made of the causes of excess deaths in 2022.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 24th October is attached.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Bromborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187732 on Former Ministers: Public Inquiries, how many occasions has legal support been provided to former ministers on matters relating to their personal conduct.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
Former ministers may be supported with legal representation after they have left office when matters relate to their time and conduct as a Minister of the Crown.
The Cabinet Office does not maintain statistics on the total number of occasions legal support has been provided to former ministers.
The Ministerial Code and the Cabinet Manual provide guidance on personal liability in the context of legal proceedings for ministers and, in the case of the latter, former ministers.