Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department holds data relating to (a) average hold time when calling Capita customer services regarding Civil Service Pensions and (b) number of callers who end their calls while waiting on hold.
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.
The Cabinet Office monitors the performance of the Civil Service Pension Scheme administrator, Capita, through regular service level reporting. This includes metrics relating to contact centre performance, such as average call wait times and call abandonment rates.
In the week commencing 20 March 2026, the average wait time was 2 minutes and 3 seconds, with 70% of calls answered in less than 30 seconds. Improvements are still to be made to ensure calls are answered as per the agreed contractual rate.
Senior representatives from Capita appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on 26 March 2026 to provide evidence on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme. During this session, Capita committed to providing the Committee with specific data on recent call-handling performance and member experience.
Regarding the volume of calls disconnected after a conversation has commenced, referred to during the PAC hearing as 'calls dropped partway through', Capita has committed to providing this specific data to the Committee in writing.
Progress on the recovery plan and the latest available performance updates are also published regularly on:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates
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: 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: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is his policy on (a) full-time staff working a four-day week on full-pay and (b) full-time staff working compressed hours on a four-day week.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
A four-day work week on full pay is not a civil service policy or something that is being considered.
The Civil Service is committed to flexible working, recognising the benefits it brings to delivering its priorities. While departments are responsible for determining specific terms and conditions, full-time Civil Service employees typically work 42 gross hours (37 net hours) across a five-day week. Some departments offer flexible working policies such as compressed hours, which allow the same number of hours to be worked over a shorter period with no impact on pay. There are no flexible working options that would permit reduced or part-time hours while maintaining full-time pay.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance he has given to Departments on whether (a) prior performance and (b) end-of-year appraisal are a material consideration in the Civil Service promotion process.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Departments and agencies have authority to determine promotion and lateral transfer arrangements for their own staff, in addition to the personal review arrangements for their own staff outside the Senior Civil Service.
A condition of this authority is that promotion within the Civil Service must follow a decision as to the fitness of individuals, on merit, to undertake the duties concerned.
The Civil Service uses the Success Profiles framework to attract and retain talent. This framework covers the expected levels for different grades, helping people understand suitability requirements for promotion or level transfer.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Cabinet Secretary's objectives 2026-27, published on 7 April 2026, what is the timetable for the publication of the strategic workforce plan.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service is committed to publishing a Civil Service Strategic Workforce Plan this year, following departments having finalised their own workforce plans, as per the financial settlements that were agreed with HMT in the Spending Review, and the priorities set by Ministers, including those set out in the Autumn Budget.