Stephen Gethins

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.

Cabinet Office officials are in daily contact with Capita to progress the recovery plan, and keep Ministers informed of progress regularly. The Minister for the Cabinet Office has also met with the Capita CEO, both before and after the transition.

In response, we have set up a dedicated team to work urgently with Capita, with 650 full time staff from across Government and Capita and restoring normal service as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. It includes specific commitments to restore service levels for priority cases, deploy additional resources, and improve communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March

Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.

The Cabinet Office has set out arrangements whereby employing departments are able to make interest-free hardship loans to those who are waiting for their pension benefits.

The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update (9 February 2026) is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-update-9-february-2026

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.

The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.

Cabinet Office officials are in daily contact with Capita to progress the recovery plan, and keep Ministers informed of progress regularly. The Minister for the Cabinet Office has also met with the Capita CEO, both before and after the transition.

In response, we have set up a dedicated team to work urgently with Capita, with 650 full time staff from across Government and Capita and restoring normal service as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. It includes specific commitments to restore service levels for priority cases, deploy additional resources, and improve communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Capita has prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. A similar position will be reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March

Alongside these arrangements, Capita has prioritised payment of tax-free pension lump sums for members who had received quotations but were not in receipt of their benefits, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.

The Cabinet Office has set out arrangements whereby employing departments are able to make interest-free hardship loans to those who are waiting for their pension benefits.

The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time.

The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update (9 February 2026) is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-update-9-february-2026

Pension increases are provided for under the Pensions (Increase) Act 1971, and annual Orders (SIs) made by H.M. Treasury under that Act. The increase from 7th April 2025 was confirmed as 1.7%, which is the rate of CPI as at September 2024.

These pension increases apply to all pension benefits with the exception of contracted-out benefits accrued prior to 6 April 1997, for members who reached state pension age before 6 April 2016. Increases on part of this element are provided through the state additional pension.

MyCSP, the current administrators of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), continue work on the implementation of circa 132,100 impacted members who are drawing their pension and need to be provided with revised options for the Remedy period (2015 to 2022). This is known as Immediate Choice (IC).

In agreement with the Cabinet Office Pension team, acting as Scheme Managers, MyCSP provided 58,400 IC members with their remedial service statements by March 2025. Of this group, 43,400 members have returned their option forms and all but 500 of these will be implemented by the end of November.

From 1 December 2025, Capita takes over as scheme administrator and as part of this, they will pick up the remaining IC work as a focused programme of work ‘project 7’.This will see the remaining 56% of IC members provided with choices as soon as possible. This project is currently being scoped to establish what work remains and how quickly the work can be completed whilst balancing accuracy and business as usual requirements. Detailed delivery plans will be provided to the Cabinet Office by the end of March 2026.

1. The number of civil servants on a full-time equivalent basis reported as in post as at 31 March 2024 and based in Queen Elizabeth House is 2,760.

2. The number of civil servants based in Scotland on a full-time equivalent basis as at 31 March 2024 is 51,830. This information is published annually as part of Civil Service Statistics 2025 and available through the Civil Service data browser at the following web address:

https://civil-service-statistics.jdac.service.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

We are committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), and all aspects of the Government digital estate.

The Government works closely with CNI operators in both the private and public sector to ensure resilience and preparedness to cyber threats, working to better understand and manage cyber risk, and minimise the impact of cyber incidents when they occur. As well as work to develop a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercising.

The King's Speech in July 2024 set out the Government’s intention to bring forward a Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences, and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure.

To enhance the cyber resilience of public institutions, the Government Cyber Security Strategy has set a clear target for all government organisations to be resilient to known vulnerabilities and common attack methods by 2030.

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024/25. Exact spend for the Fund will be published in the 2024/25 ISF Annual Report later in the year. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.

The Integrated Security Fund (ISF) came into operation on 1 April 2024 and has a budget of almost £1bn for Financial Year 2024-25.  The Fund prioritises spending on those geographies and thematic issues that pose the greatest direct threat to the UK. Activity focussed on conflict prevention, resolution and peacebuilding are embedded into programmes across the ISF. However, these are not tracked as individual or separate components. The annual ISF budget for 2025-26 will be published shortly.

All Prosperity Fund Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending must comply with the International Development Act 2002 and Gender Equality Act 2014. Large, multi-year Prosperity Fund programmes are being developed, building on the foundations laid by smaller projects in 2016/17.

The multi-year Prosperity Fund programmes will include an assessment on gender equality and inclusion. We are implementing a gender strategy to develop these assessments using specialist capability. An external monitoring and evaluation mechanism is in place that will provide information on the impact of programmes on gender equality.

The Prosperity Fund is implementing a gender strategy covering programme selection, design, monitoring and evaluation. The multi-year Prosperity Fund programmes currently being developed will include an assessment of how programmes address the issue of gender inequality and inclusion. Measurement of progress will be part of the Prosperity Fund’s monitoring and evaluation.

The Prosperity Fund is focused on high impact projects to promote economic
development and poverty reduction in the developing world. All Official Development
Assistance spend under the cross-government Prosperity Fund (PF) is fully
consistent with the International Development Act (including the Gender Equality
2014) and OECD DAC criteria. The Fund’s priorities were set out in the UK Aid
Strategy (2015) and the Strategic Defence Security Review (SDSR 2015). The Fund
also supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG
8 to “Promote inclusive and sustainable growth, employment and decent work for all”.

Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department. The Civil Service constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government's commitment to leave the EU and get the best deal for the UK. Civil Service HR is working with all departments, functions and professions across the Civil Service to better understand their capacity and capability requirements.

The Civil Service is focused on delivering this Government’s commitment to leave the EU and get the very best deal for the UK. We are equipping ourselves with the right people and the right skills across government to make this happen.

Workforce planning is primarily the responsibility of each department. The Civil Service constantly reviews its capabilities in order to deliver the Government's commitment to leave the EU and get the best deal for the UK. Civil Service HR is working with all departments, functions and professions across the Civil Service to better understand their capacity and capability requirements.

The Civil Service is focused on delivering this Government’s commitment to leave the EU and get the very best deal for the UK. We are equipping ourselves with the right people and the right skills across government to make this happen.

The government remains committed to the successful delivery of our priorities. We constantly review our capabilities in order to deliver both the government's commitment to leave the EU and get the best deal for the UK.

I spoke to EU Council President Tusk, EU Commission President Juncker, German Chancellor Merkel and French President Hollande to discuss the UK’s objectives in the negotiations and future relationship with the EU.

The UK Government is committed to working with the Devolved Administrations as we prepare for our negotiations with the EU which is why we set up the Joint Ministerial Committee on EU Negotiations.

The Cabinet Office is responsible for the majority of cross-cutting government services that make corporate changes easier, including supporting new departments to build their capability. For the two most recently established departments (the Department for Exiting the European Union and the Department for International Trade) we provided practical guidance, and for the Department for Exiting the European Union in particular, interim Estates, IT, HR, finance, security and telephony services.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The current migration route for employing individuals into the construction industry is through Skilled Worker Visas.

DBT and industry has worked with the Home Office (HO) to provide clearer guidance to construction employers on the Sponsor Licence process. The construction industry also worked with Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to add in-demand construction occupations to the Shortage Occupation List.

Following publication of the Immigration White Paper DBT is working with the HO and the MAC to feed into priority occupations that should be considered for the Temporary Shortage List while building investment in the training of the domestic workforce.

The EU is a significant trading partner for both goods and services, but it is clear that the current deal is not working well enough. In the 12 months ending September 2024, the UK’s total trade with the EU was 5% below the level seen in 2018, after removing the effect of inflation and excluding precious metals. We will continue to work with our European friends to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade to help drive growth.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is comprised of experts in the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The FCDO advises DBT on the situation in country and the risks this poses with respect to the UK's export control responsibilities. The MOD advises DBT on the risks of diversion of exported goods and national security risks arising from hostile state activity. As the decision-making authority for all export licensing decisions DBT takes advice from both Departments and is in daily contact with them where necessary to ensure that process happens as quickly as possible.

Exporters are advised in the first instance to contact the ECJU Licensing Unit, as they will be able to provide further updates on the progress of their applications and comment on any specific cases they would like to raise.

The processing of all export licence applications to Ukraine is being prioritised by ECJU. Within that process, applications for the export of equipment organised between the UK Government and the government of Ukraine through Ministry of Defence procurement mechanisms are given the highest priority.

As with all export licence applications, assessments are made on a case-by-case basis according to the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Assessments for Ukraine, given the situation within the country and the nature of the goods often being exported, mean these cases are some of the most complex for ECJU to process. Therefore, some can take longer to process than our public targets (to conclude 70% of standard individual export licence (SIEL) applications within 20 working days and 99% within 60 working days).

The volume of live applications changes daily, but the Government release statistics on export licensing decisions and processing times regularly and these can be broken down by end destination. The most recent statistics cover the period April to June 2024 and were published on 12 December. In that period, 36 (72%) SIELs for Ukraine were responded to within 20 working days and 45 (90%) were responded to within 60 working days.

We rigorously assess every application on a case-by-case basis against strict assessment criteria, the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria (the SELC).

We are reviewing this case with other government departments and we will conclude our assessment once we receive that advice.

The UK is party to 83 Bilateral Investment Treaties and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership that contain Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).

ISDS provides an independent means to resolve disputes with states where investors believe they have experienced arbitrary, discriminatory or unfair treatment or expropriation without compensation. ISDS does not remove governments’ right to regulate in the public interest, including with respect to the environment and human rights.

I refer the Hon. Member for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry to my response to Question 12968 on 12^th November 2024: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-11-06/12968