Civil Service Pension Scheme

Siobhain McDonagh Excerpts

Tuesday 15th September 2026 Westminster Hall

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order. [Interruption.] Congratulations to the Minister—right on time.

[Ian Byrne (Liverpool West Derby) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I thank all hon. Members from both sides of the House for attending on a one-line Whip, which shows the strength of feeling. Their presence proves that the unresolved problems that have emerged for many in Liverpool West Derby represent a national scandal requiring a national response. In my constituency alone, 35 people have contacted me with serious concerns about the administration of their civil service pension. I speak for them, and for civil servants, pensioners and bereaved families across the country being badly let down. They have served the public, paid into their pensions and planned their retirements in good faith.

[Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

On a point of order, Dame Siobhain. I wonder if it is reflective of the failure to pay pensions on time, or to get the basic administration right or even a quote out, that the Minister does not turn up on time for a debate that follows an earlier one about the failure to look after pensioners under this Government.

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

I call Ian Byrne.

[Ian Byrne]

These civil servants are entitled to expect accurate information, pensions paid when they are due and accountability when things go wrong. With the permission of my constituents, I want to place on the record three West Derby cases. Dave Barlow has spent around 18 months trying to obtain up-to-date pension information. He tells me that he has not received an annual benefit statement for several years. Dave, who is reducing his working week partly to care for his elderly parents, is due to begin partial retirement on 6 October, yet he still does not have the information needed to plan his finances. He was given no guarantee that his pension would be ready, no timescale for his statement and, incredibly, was told by Capita to approach his employer for hardship support if necessary. Think about that—a civil servant may have to seek hardship support because the private company paid to administer his pension has totally failed to do its job.

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[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order. Everyone can see the nature of my dilemma. I lost a wager with the previous Clerk by suggesting you would not all be here because there was a one-line Whip at 4.30 pm, but you all are. To clarify for Mr Stuart and other Members, I should say that the Doorkeepers have informed me that the Minister was here in plenty of time, but was caught in the mêlée as people left.

I regret to inform all of you that, with the authority of the Chairman of Ways and Means, I am imposing a time limit of one minute on Back-Bench speeches. Even then, I cannot guarantee that everybody will get called, so please do not take interventions.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

I wrote to the Cabinet Office in January in response to constituents’ concerns about late payments, dreadful customer service and, in some cases, desperate pleas for pensions to be released. Shortly after, I met Capita representatives; they made assurances that pension arrears would be cleared by the end of April and that overall service levels would be restored by June. Those were hollow words: both targets were missed and everything has got worse. One constituent told me that he had given 43 years of service to the Royal Navy. He retired in October last year and is still waiting for his pension forecast to arrive. That is nearly a whole year.

My case workers have been exhaustively responding to constituents who are attempting to access statements and payments. In January, I wrote to the Cabinet Office but we are still waiting for movement on this issue. I suspect that my caseworkers are doing a better job than those hired by the Government, who have somehow seen an increase in the number of complaints. I do not think that bringing the contract in-house will make a difference—

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order. Some Members have left the Chamber, so I am increasing the time limit to one minute and 30 seconds.

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[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order. Isb apologise for the hokey-cokey way of chairing. We are back down to a minute for speeches.

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[Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. I completely agree with the concerns that my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne) raised about Capita’s unacceptable performance. Sadly, despite repeated promises from Capita that it would prioritise, escalate and expedite such cases, too many of my constituents continue to live with the consequences. One constituent has been waiting nearly 11 months for their bereavement case to be resolved. Despite Capita’s assurances that it would clear stock cases involving bereavement by 1 September, that one remains pending.

I am also concerned that Capita appears to be providing constituents and their MPs with incorrect and often conflicting information. In one particular case, my constituent and I contacted Capita separately, and I additionally raised the matter with Ministers in the Cabinet Office. Shockingly, my office received a different answer from the one that Capita provided directly to my constituent, and we both received a different answer from the one given to the Cabinet Office. That is three different answers on one case. The ineptitude is simply staggering, and no one will be surprised to hear that that case is still outstanding.

In the meantime—

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

Order.

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[Jessica Toale (Bournemouth West) (Lab)]

Dozens of my constituents have been waiting months on end for their pensions, but I want to raise just one case. My constituent Cally came to see me in February this year. Her mother, Sarah Mitchell, died in August 2025. Despite repeated efforts from my team, Capita still cannot locate her details. Sarah died before getting her pension, and Cally is still waiting for her survivor benefits. I hope the Minister agrees with me—and, it sounds like, everybody in the Chamber—that the shameful cases raised today show that Capita is not fit to deal with this contract. [Interruption.]

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

I apologise; I did not see you, John. I will reduce the Minister’s time so that you can speak.

[John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab)]

Thank you, Dame Siobhain—I am not sure if that is beneficial to the debate, but there you are.

I declare an interest as the chair of the PCS trade union parliamentary group. I first want to thank the Civil Service Pensioners’ Alliance, which worked with the trade union to expose what is going on. I also thank the Minister for her open-door policy. On 9 September, Capita supplied her with information that, let us say, has a passing relationship with the truth.

For the October statement, could we ensure that we have the full publication of the Grant Thornton audit report, so that we can see the hard information? The PCS is willing to work with the Minister on the insourcing strategy. I also ask that we have a full inquiry into how this contract was awarded in the first place, and how Capita has been awarded further contracts despite its successive failures.

[Dame Siobhain McDonagh (in the Chair)]

I call the Lib Dem spokesperson. You have five minutes.