Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to her Israeli counterpart on the future of the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly condemns the Israeli Security Cabinet's decision of 8 February to expand Israeli control over the West Bank. The major changes to land, enforcement, and administrative powers proposed in the West Bank will harm efforts to advance peace and stability. The UK recognises the significance of the Ibrahimi Mosque/Cave of the Patriarchs for the faiths of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It is important that Israel respects the arrangements regarding the holy sites in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and avoids taking actions contrary to those arrangements, or the wider interests of peace and stability. We call on Israel to reverse these decisions immediately.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many qualified driving test examiners were available to carry out tests in (a) September, (b) October, (c) November and (d) December 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The table below shows how many full-time equivalent (FTE) driving examiners (DE) employed by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency were available to carry out practical car driving tests in September, October, November and December 2025.
Month | No of FTE DEs available to carry out practical driving tests |
September 2025 | 1,464 |
October 2025 | 1,485 |
November 2025 | 1,539 |
December 2025 | 1,542 |
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has the ability to issue penalties for performance in relation to Capita's contract for administering the Civil Service Pension.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (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 Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025.
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.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the oral evidence given by the Paymaster General and Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee session on 28 January 2026, HC 463, whether his Department has conducted an economic impact assessment on the potential cost to the public purse of providing loans and compensations to people impacted by delays to the receipt of their civil service pensions.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (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 Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members. The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension. We are putting in place interest-free bridging loans of up to £5,000 (and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases) to recent retirees facing payment delays. These loans are to be repaid and will be met from existing departmental settlements. The provision of bridging loans and potential compensation does not require an economic impact assessment as this is not a new, revised or de-regulatory policy, bill or statutory instrument.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many meetings Ministers in his department have had with CAPITA in regard to the administration of the civil service pension scheme.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (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 Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
Cabinet Office officials are meeting with Capita on a daily basis to progress the recovery plan, agree priority actions and review performance in order to move to the expected timelines and standards of service for all members as soon as possible. The Minister for the Cabinet Office also meets with the Capita CEO on a regular basis.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Civil Service Pension Scheme payments to beavered spouses are outstanding.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (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 Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025 and is experiencing significant performance issues in delivering services to members.The delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.
There are currently 6,300 open bereavement-related cases, with approximately 75% of cases inherited from the previous administrator. About 300 cases are death in service and are being treated as the highest priority. Many of these cases require the calculation and implementation of payments to surviving spouses or partners.
We are implementing a clear recovery plan with Capita, covering all aspects of the pension administration service. A specialist task force has been deployed with a commitment to restore all bereavement services and death in service by the end of February.