Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has the ability to issue penalties for performance in relation to Capita's contract for administering the Civil Service Pension.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025.
The contract includes key performance indicators that, if not met, include financial penalties. These have already been applied in respect of Capita’s performance in December.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee session on 28 January 2026, HC 463, whether his Department has conducted an economic impact assessment on the potential cost to the public purse of providing loans and compensations to people impacted by delays to the receipt of their civil service pensions.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members. The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension. We are putting in place interest-free bridging loans of up to £5,000 (and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases) to recent retirees facing payment delays. These loans are to be repaid and will be met from existing departmental settlements. The provision of bridging loans and potential compensation does not require an economic impact assessment as this is not a new, revised or de-regulatory policy, bill or statutory instrument.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Ministers in his department have had with CAPITA in regard to the administration of the civil service pension scheme.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
Cabinet Office officials are meeting with Capita on a daily basis to progress the recovery plan, agree priority actions and review performance in order to move to the expected timelines and standards of service for all members as soon as possible. The Minister for the Cabinet Office also meets with the Capita CEO on a regular basis.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Civil Service Pension Scheme payments to beavered spouses are outstanding.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
There are currently 6,300 open bereavement-related cases, with approximately 75% of cases inherited from the previous administrator. About 300 cases are death in service and are being treated as the highest priority. Many of these cases require the calculation and implementation of payments to surviving spouses or partners.
We are implementing a clear recovery plan with Capita, covering all aspects of the pension administration service. A specialist task force has been deployed with a commitment to restore all bereavement services and death in service by the end of February.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests were carried out in (a) September, (b) October, (c) November and (d) December 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on the number of practical driving tests conducted by month on GOV.UK.
This data is updated monthly and currently shows data to December 2025.
The table below shows the number of practical driving tests conducted for September, October, November and December.
Month | Tests Conducted |
Sep-25 | 168,644 |
Oct-25 | 182,414 |
Nov-25 | 173,835 |
Dec-25 | 158,720 |
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the allocation of NHS training places included in the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill on UK medical students studying at foreign campuses of UK universities.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 13 January 2026. The bill delivers the Government’s commitment in the 10-Year Health Plan for England, published in July 2025, to prioritise United Kingdom medical graduates for foundation training, and to prioritise UK medical graduates and other doctors who have worked in the National Health Service for a significant period for specialty training.
Under the bill, British citizens who have graduated from medical schools outside of the UK will not be prioritised for foundation training places, and a graduate from a medical school in the UK or Ireland will not be prioritised if they spent the majority of their time studying outside the British Islands.
For specialty training places starting in 2026, NHS experience is being represented by immigration status as people with a settled immigration status are more likely to have worked in the NHS for longer. The effect of this is that British citizens and those with certain other immigration status will be prioritised. For specialty training posts starting from 2027 onwards, this provision will not apply automatically. Instead, it will be possible to make regulations to specify additional groups who will be prioritised, where they are likely to have significant experience working as a doctor either in the NHS in England, Scotland, or Wales or in health and social care in Northern Ireland, or by reference to their immigration status.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing mandatory training for GPs on (a) identifying symptoms and (b) offering treatment for the Menopause.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that more needs to be done to support women experiencing the menopause. This Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the NHS.
General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on menopause, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.
All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and has to meet the standards set by the GMC.
NICE published its updated guideline in November 2024 and recommended more treatment choices for menopause symptoms. The updated guideline aims to support healthcare professionals by providing them with information they need to support evidence-based decisions about treatment choices, as well as information and support about menopause. The guideline recommends hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms, and also recommends that for people aged over 40 years old, healthcare professionals should consider menopause-specific cognitive behavioural therapy as an option for vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause in addition to HRT. HRT is the main treatment for menopause symptoms, and NICE recommends that for most women it is safe and effective.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the financial cost to parents of attendance at child contact centres.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government values the vital role that child contact centres play in supporting safe, positive relationships between children and their parents, particularly at times of family difficulty.
The Government is not responsible for setting the fees charged by child contact centres. Child contact centres operate independently and are responsible for setting their own pricing structures, which may vary according to the type of contact provided, the centre’s funding arrangements, staffing requirements and geographical location. As such, the Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the financial cost to parents of attending a child contact centre.