Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to UIN 116915, what the most recent data for outstanding backlog Civil Service Pension cases his department has been informed of by Capita.

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.

The Cabinet Office confirms that the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) administrator inherited 86,000 cases from the previous provider. Significant progress has been made in clearing the most urgent components of this inherited backlog, supported by an established recovery plan.

Key achievements as of 13 March 2026:

• The inherited backlog of 15,000 unread emails was fully addressed by the end of February 2026.

• Of the 8,063 inherited retirement lump sum cases, 6,871 payments have been processed, ensuring all inherited lump sums are paid where full information has been received.

• For urgent cases, outstanding workable cases have been significantly reduced, returning to or nearing normalised work in progress levels.

• All February and March back office delivery promises are on track due to the deployment of additional CO and Capita surge resource.

The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update (2 March 2026) is available at this weblink: (latest update 16 March): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-update-16-march-2026