Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of Capita in delivering and administering the civil service pension scheme.

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 some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.

Angela MacDonald, Deputy Chief Executive at HMRC, is working with the Cabinet Office and Capita to lead and support delivery of a full recovery plan. This includes commitments, with milestones, to immediately deal with priority cases, restore service levels and improve communication with affected members.

Furthermore, any further service failures by Capita will attract financial penalties, which will reduce the overall cost of the contract.

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.

The Cabinet Office will continue to use all available commercial levers to hold Capita to account and ensure they deliver the contractual service levels.