Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Civil Service Pension Scheme cases remained outstanding beyond the relevant contractual processing timescale for (a) retirement quotes, (b) retirement payments, (c) bereavement cases, (d) death-in-service cases and (e) ill-health retirement cases on 30 September 2026; and how many cases in each category Capita classified as non-workable.

The specific contractual Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets and individual performance percentages for the Civil Service Pension Scheme are commercially confidential and are not routinely published.

However, the Government is committed to transparency regarding operational recovery. Priority is being directed towards high-impact and vulnerable cases - specifically bereavement, death-in-service, and ill-health retirement awards - to clear backlogs, stabilise operational workflows, and return performance across all categories. Cabinet Office closely monitors Capita’s delivery of the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Ministers have been clear that Capita’s performance has fallen short of acceptable standards, which is why urgent intervention is underway; including mandating production of a formal service rectification plan.

The Government is taking robust action to hold Capita to account. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita. Independent auditors have been deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table, and work is continuing on actively shaping a long-term strategy to bring this pension scheme back in-house.