Civil Service Pensions

Pete Wishart Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question, for all the work he did up to the summer on appointing the remedial advisers, and for all the help he has given me since. I will absolutely make sure that the right preparation work is done on any insourcing options, so that when people in the civil service retire, they can have confidence that the scheme we end up choosing is the right one for them.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and Kinross-shire) (SNP)]

I have to say that I found the Minister’s statement extraordinarily complacent and singularly unhelpful. It is a damning indictment of successive Governments’ failure to get to grips with a full-blown pension crisis. It is not good enough to simply criticise Capita. We know how bad it is. People want real and decisive Government action, so will she commit to bringing the scheme in house, ensuring that meaningful emergency payments are paid out to people who are in real trouble, and get to grips with solving this issue, once and for all?

[Sally Jameson]

I do not accept at all that this is not a meaningful plan. I set out in some detail the measures and the resources that the Cabinet Office is putting in to get this whole process back on track, so that it delivers for scheme members. Many former colleagues of mine have been affected. Everybody is working night and day to try to rectify the situation. As I said, we are looking at all options for insourcing, but we do not want to do anything that will bring further disruption for scheme members. Everything we do must be member-led and in their interests, but of course we are looking at all the options. Significant work is going into contingency planning and future options for the civil service pension scheme.