Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Capita on (a) its performance on delivering the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) and (b) how he will hold Capita to account for the ongoing lack of system access and payment delays.

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

I want to reassure you that the Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.

Furthermore, Capita remains subject to all SLAs within the contract, which includes system access and timely payments. We are applying contractual levers available to us to deal with performance failures, and we continue to explore all commercial avenues to hold them to account for the quality of their delivery. For example, existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita’s performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

The Minister for the Cabinet Office has met with the Capita CEO both before and after the transition. This oversight is supported by Cabinet Office officials and the taskforce, who remain in daily contact with Capita leadership. Ministers are regularly updated with progress being made to ensure the recovery remains on track.

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