Oral Answers to Questions

Munira Wilson Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Chris Ward]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. She has raised it with me previously, and she is a fantastic champion for her constituents. As she knows, I am working with the National Shipbuilding Office to bring forward the new rules. Shipbuilding is one of the areas that we are prioritising. Unfortunately, this procurement took place before the guidance came in, and it shows why the guidance is so necessary. It allows us to protect British national security and support shipyards, such as the one in her constituency. I reassure her constituents that the steps that the Government have taken will mean that more contracts, business and jobs come to constituencies like hers.

[Munira Wilson (Twickenham) (LD)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Darren Jones)]

I begin by thanking my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister for the dedicated work that he has undertaken since becoming leader of the Labour party. Following the crushing defeat that we experienced in 2019, he led our party to a landslide historic victory in 2024. Since coming into office, he has taken the right decisions to get our country back on track after 14 years of Conservative failure. NHS waiting lists have fallen by 400,000—the largest fall in 17 years. We have put an extra 3,000 neighbourhood police officers back on the beat, and we will lift 450,000 children out of poverty. I am proud to have served the Prime Minister as his Chief Secretary, and I know that my team and colleagues have been proud to serve him as well, and we wish his successor well.

[Munira Wilson]

I have heard from a number of constituents who worked for the civil service and have faced delays in getting their pension scheme payments, including a single mum who was forced to take early retirement due to a terminal cancer diagnosis. She told me that she just wanted to get her affairs in order for her children before she died. I have recently heard that her payments have started again, but that is not the case for many other constituents. Will the Minister tell my constituents what he is doing to help them, especially those facing hardship?

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Satvir Kaur)]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right that the situation is completely unacceptable. I offer my support to her and her constituents in any way that I can. When I met representatives from Capita last week, they said that they want to under-promise and over-deliver. Clearly Capita has failed badly at that, but it has until the end of June to ensure that its services are delivered at an acceptable level. If it fails at that, we will use all options available. We are holding it robustly to account. Capita initially promised that all death in service and ill health cases were resolved, but that is not the case, and I am happy to take up the cases the hon. Lady mentions.