Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps are being taken to amend the Schengen-wide 90-in-180 framework through a wider EU-UK agreement.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals. The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State.
Ministers and officials from across the Government, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans are currently being considered to make Britain more resilient to extreme weather.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security) (Jointly with the Cabinet Office)
Enhancing Britain’s resilience to extreme weather events requires coordination and collaboration between different Government departments. The Cabinet Office is the lead government department responsible for severe weather, including severe storms, extreme heat and extreme cold. The Cabinet Office plays a coordinating role, bringing together departments with responsibility for leading the response planning and longer term resilience of the sectors they represent.
Work is underway across government to increase resilience to extreme weather events. From £710 million to fund upgrades to the school estate to the construction of nine new reservoirs across the country. Between April 2024 and March 2026, the government invested £2.65 billion to construct new flood schemes and repair existing defences. Funding for the fire service has also increased by £100 million and water companies have been directed to step-up their work to fix leaks and preserve water.
In July, we announced that we will be delivering a campaign to raise awareness of the simple steps households can take to keep themselves safe during everyday emergencies, like extreme weather. We’ll be announcing more information and beginning the campaign later this year.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to set up an engagement group of disabled people's organisations to be involved in decision making associated with the work of the D20.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Decisions on the membership and UK representatives of G20 engagement groups are not for the Government to make; they should be decided by the groups themselves.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the UK's lead in the D20 will be a person with a disability.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Decisions on the membership and UK representatives of G20 engagement groups are not for the Government to make; they should be decided by the groups themselves.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who will be the UK's lead from 15 December 2026 when the UK takes over the chair of the D20.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Decisions on the membership and UK representatives of G20 engagement groups are not for the Government to make; they should be decided by the groups themselves.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how can members of the public register their objections to those who have been awarded honours.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds
Honours are awarded by The Sovereign following a recommendation from one of ten independent Honours Committees, comprising a majority of independent members who are experts in their relevant sector. Honours are given to reward outstanding service in a given field or area and are awarded entirely on merit. As part of the nomination process, we try to minimise the risk that prospective candidates have behaved in ways likely to bring the system into disrepute by carrying out probity checks with a number of government departments before names are submitted for approval.
A recipient who has been deemed to have brought the honours system into disrepute can have their award forfeited. Full criteria for forfeiture and the Forfeiture Committee’s contact details are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many requests for Civil Service Pension quotations remain outstanding.
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.
Capita were initially instructed to prioritise and clear the most urgent cases such as Death in Service and Ill-Health during February and March. While Capita previously assured us that performance standards for Death in Service and Ill-Health were being met by mid-March, recent information continues to demonstrate unacceptable delays in some ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases. We have urgently escalated this to Capita, who are actively investigating the underlying data and reasons for these continued delays.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Capita has issued lump sum payments to 16,776 retired members awaiting their regular pensions, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time. To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued £14.2 million in Transitional Support Loans to 2,612 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.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
We are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of people affected in the Poole constituency. Capita does not provide standard reporting on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme on a geographical or constituency basis.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has considered awarding compensation to retired civil servants impacted by delays in the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
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.
Capita were initially instructed to prioritise and clear the most urgent cases such as Death in Service and Ill-Health during February and March. While Capita previously assured us that performance standards for Death in Service and Ill-Health were being met by mid-March, recent information continues to demonstrate unacceptable delays in some ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases. We have urgently escalated this to Capita, who are actively investigating the underlying data and reasons for these continued delays.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Capita has issued lump sum payments to 16,776 retired members awaiting their regular pensions, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time. To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued £14.2 million in Transitional Support Loans to 2,612 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.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
We are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of people affected in the Poole constituency. Capita does not provide standard reporting on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme on a geographical or constituency basis.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many retired civil servants in Poole constituency are awaiting regular pension payments from the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
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.
Capita were initially instructed to prioritise and clear the most urgent cases such as Death in Service and Ill-Health during February and March. While Capita previously assured us that performance standards for Death in Service and Ill-Health were being met by mid-March, recent information continues to demonstrate unacceptable delays in some ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases. We have urgently escalated this to Capita, who are actively investigating the underlying data and reasons for these continued delays.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Capita has issued lump sum payments to 16,776 retired members awaiting their regular pensions, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time. To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued £14.2 million in Transitional Support Loans to 2,612 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.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
We are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of people affected in the Poole constituency. Capita does not provide standard reporting on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme on a geographical or constituency basis.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when retired civil servants will receive Civil Service Pension quotations.
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.
Capita were initially instructed to prioritise and clear the most urgent cases such as Death in Service and Ill-Health during February and March. While Capita previously assured us that performance standards for Death in Service and Ill-Health were being met by mid-March, recent information continues to demonstrate unacceptable delays in some ill-health retirement and death-in-service cases. We have urgently escalated this to Capita, who are actively investigating the underlying data and reasons for these continued delays.
Around 25,000 members currently await pension quotations from Capita, including outstanding historical cases left unprocessed by the previous administrator. Whilst we have mandated that Capita restore service levels by the end of June 2026, putting accepted quotes into payment requires sequential administrative steps, meaning the first actual payments will commence around late August or September.
Capita has issued lump sum payments to 16,776 retired members awaiting their regular pensions, whilst the scheme continues to pay approximately 730,000 existing pensioners on time. To alleviate immediate hardship, employers have issued £14.2 million in Transitional Support Loans to 2,612 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.
The scheme will automatically pay interest on delayed benefits to protect members from financial loss. The statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial loss, distress, and inconvenience on a case-by-case basis and is operated in strict accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
We are unable to provide a breakdown of the number of people affected in the Poole constituency. Capita does not provide standard reporting on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme on a geographical or constituency basis.