Civil Service Pensions

Debate between Nick Thomas-Symonds and Florence Eshalomi

Monday 6th July 2026 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

Quite simply, that should not be happening. If the hon. Lady is willing to write to me with precisely the information that was given, and what the correct information was, the Parliamentary Secretary will look into it.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for coming to the House to give this important update. To be honest, I think that many of our constituents will be watching with a lot of alarm, concern, anger and frustration, thinking, “How will this situation change?” A constituent of mine wanted me to raise his case. He said:

“I turn to you as a last resort for help in a moment of personal crisis and right to family life. For the past six months I have been trying to get the civil service pension scheme to issue me with a letter confirming my annual and monthly pension entitlement…I am a 70-year-old retiree with medical conditions. I reside 50% of year in Brazil…with the remainder of the time spent in the UK where I am a UK taxpayer. I am a retired member of the FCDO having served almost 38 years in various diplomatic roles.”

This is not a way to treat hard-working members of staff who have given so much of their time to our Government. Can the Minister assure me that Capita will be held accountable for the failure, and will he say that heads should roll?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the situation has been totally and utterly unacceptable. Capita has been and will be robustly held to account. That is why I have appointed an audit to look at the future of the scheme, as well as the remedial adviser—who is being appointed at Capita’s expense—to force rectification directly on the ground. There are two things too look at here: the immediate operational issues, and the future of the scheme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Thomas-Symonds and Florence Eshalomi

Thursday 22nd January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I am more than happy to write to my hon. Friend with an up-to-date, precise figure for interim payments. I should also mention that, as was raised with me in the House on a number of occasions in the autumn, inheritance tax bit on secondary beneficiaries, and I was pleased that this Government dealt with that issue at the Budget.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

13. What recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on improving the use of technology to implement Government priorities.

UK-EU Common Understanding Negotiations

Debate between Nick Thomas-Symonds and Florence Eshalomi

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

We would expect the price to be £810 million. With the discount, it is £570 million. However, the right hon. Gentleman completely misunderstands the situation, because a substantial amount of that money will come back in the form of grants to our own people who are applying to be on the scheme. On his point about value for money, I have made sure that the argument about having a fair balance is embedded. That is the basis on which we will continue, but after 10 months there will be a review that looks at the balance between contribution and participation. If he wants to do something useful to address that balance, he could encourage his own constituents to participate.

[Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall and Camberwell Green) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for his statement. I am a proud Erasmus graduate and the first in my family to go to university. As I was a carer for my late mother, I did not study abroad. I stayed at home and commuted to university, so Erasmus was the first time I was able to experience that. Many years on, I still have connections and friendships that were formed through the scheme, and it is good to know that young people in my constituency will be able to benefit from it. It is so, so vital. Can the Minister outline the timeframe a bit more, so that we can make sure that this is rolled out not just to young people in university but to apprentices, young workers and those studying, to make sure that they get life skills and experiences that are so rich and that will stay with them for life?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend speaks powerfully about the transformative experience that she had. My aim today is to have, in years to come, others who can speak similarly of the transformative experience that they have had. With regard to moving forward, it will first be about the appointment of a national agency. It will then be about doing really important work next year to get the application process up and running, and about making sure that people have the necessary information and are supported to be able to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities that will be coming in 2027.