Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Capita were aware of the extent of the backlog of civil service pension payments when they bid for, and were awarded, the pensions management contract.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The procurement process for the Civil Service Pensions Scheme began in 2022, with the award of the contract for administration of the service in March 2023, under the previous government. As part of the procurement process, data was shared with all bidders that outlined the current performance and any work in progress. It should be noted that the transition process was for 2 years after the contract award.
While the initial procurement data suggested a work-in-progress level of approximately 37,300 cases, subsequent instructions from the Cabinet Office in mid-2025 advised the provider to prepare for volumes of up to 100,000. In evidence provided to the Public Accounts Committee, Capita outlined that the full complexity and age of the inherited backlog, which included 89,000 cases at the point of transfer, only became fully transparent to the administrator upon the transfer of services on 1 December 2025.
A joint recovery plan between the Cabinet Office and the administrator is currently in place, supported by surge capacity from HMRC. Further information can be found here:
https://committees.parliament.uk/event/26804/formal-meeting-oral-evidence-session/
And details of the recovery plan can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
Asked by: Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances they have received, if any, from Palantir that the US government's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk will not affect the delivery of their contracts with the UK Government.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government utilises a range of suppliers based on operational requirements, value for money, and compliance with our security and legal obligations, with all suppliers subject to rigorous due diligence.
It is the responsibility of each contracting authority to ensure that contracts that they award are suitable for their requirements and legally compliant, and to monitor and manage the supplier's performance against their contractual obligations. All contracting authorities are simultaneously encouraged to follow the Government Security Group’s guidance on Tackling Security Risk in Government Supply Chains, which details best practices for procurement, commercial, and security practitioners when selecting and onboarding suppliers.
Asked by: Lord Leigh of Hurley (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) longest, and (2) average amount of, time taken by the Investment Security Unit to accept notifications of transactions over the periods of (a) 31 December 2025-31 March 2026, and (b) 31 March 2025-31 March 2026.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government publishes information on the operation of the National Security and Investment Act in the NSIA Annual Report. The most recent report, covering the 2024/25 reporting period, can be found on GOV.UK. In this period, the median time from receipt of a notification to a decision to accept that notification was:
7 working days for mandatory notifications;
8 working days for voluntary notifications; and
6 working days for retrospective validation applications.
Data on the time taken to accept notifications received between 1st April 2025 and 31st March 2026 will be published in the next Annual Report later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 February (HL14387), whether the central performance management framework for the Senior Civil Service has been, or will be, changed in order to deliver the plans set out by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister in his speech on 20 January.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are in the process of updating the Senior Civil Service (SCS) Performance Management Framework aimed at ensuring performance across the SCS is focused on the Prime Minister’s priorities and that underperformance is held to tougher standards and addressed as soon as it arises.
Asked by: Lord Pack (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 24 March (HL15443), what steps the Cabinet Office has taken in the last year to meet its legal duty to keep under review the question of when uncommenced legislation that falls within its area of responsibility should be brought into force.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Cabinet Office conducts regular reviews to prioritise the commencement of legislation as soon as is reasonably practicable to do so, and taking into account departmental objectives.
The Cabinet Office has made two Commencement Orders in the past year to bring legislation within its remit into force as appropriate.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to ensure members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in North Shropshire constituency are able to access their pensions.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this 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.
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.
Capita 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. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.
Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.
To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. 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 is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
Asked by: Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to expedite the payment of the Civil Service pensions, in the context of the current case backlog.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
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 receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this 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.
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.
Capita 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. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.
Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.
To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. 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 is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to make (a) primary legislative, (b) secondary legislative, (c) statutory guidance or (d) non-statutory guidance changes to activity under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my previous answer (UIN122783).
Asked by: Lord Roberts of Llandudno (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relationship between a Prime Minister's length of tenure and their right to nominate honours upon retirement or resignation.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
By long-standing convention, all Prime Ministers, regardless of length of tenure, are entitled to nominate individuals for honours as part of both dissolution and resignation honours lists.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the statement issued by CAPITA on 28th January 2026, if will he outline the measures included in the urgent recovery plan that is being conducted by HMRC.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
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.The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this 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.
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.
Capita 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. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March.
Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,979 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April.
To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. 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 is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates