Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking as a result of Capita not meeting the ministerial deadline of 30 June to restore pension administration services to contractual standards; and what assessment he has made of the impact of Capita not meeting the deadline on members awaiting payments arising from the McCloud remedy.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline, the department will be prepared for all eventualities.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department plans to provide local authorities with guidance on whole society resilience.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
In July 2025, the Government published its Resilience Action Plan which set out its approach to enable the whole of society to take action to increase resilience.
The Resilience Guidance Doctrine on GOV.UK brings all resilience guidance together in one place. It supports local responders, including local authorities, to understand how to fulfil their duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and how to work with partners to drive community resilience.
There is also specific guidance in the ‘Local Authorities Preparedness for Civil Emergencies: A Good Practice Guide for Chief Executives’, which provides assistance to local authorities to make sure they are well-prepared to respond and recover from emergencies, including how to work collaboratively with wider partners. In response to the Grenfell Inquiry recommendations, MHCLG has committed to review this guidance further.
Additionally, the Government, UK Resilience Academy, Local Government Association and Society of Local Authority Chief Executives are running a pilot to test a new training offer to local authority chief executives and all relevant staff.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the economic contribution of wholesale distributors to the UK economy.
Answered by Josh Simons
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 8th of December is attached.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of procurement rules on the government's ability to engage with start-up search engine businesses to support their growth.
Answered by Chris Ward
The Government is determined to ensure the £385 billion of public money spent on public procurement annually, delivers economic growth and supports small businesses and start-ups. For too long, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups have been held back by government procurement processes that are too slow, bureaucratic, and difficult to navigate.
The Procurement Act, which came into force on 24 February 2025, introduces new measures to make it easier for start-ups, small businesses and social enterprises to access public sector supply-chains, removing unnecessary burdens and costs, and opening up opportunities to the most innovative and agile firms.
The Government is analysing responses to our recent consultation on further reforms to public procurement processes. These proposals aim to drive economic growth, support small businesses, and better support innovation. We will publish our conclusions and further actions to improve public procurement in due course.