Thomas-Symonds told the House that Capita had an 18-month planning window but failed to deliver numerous milestones, including implementing required IT automation. The Cabinet Office repeatedly flagged delays in transition milestones, leading to the termination. Capita also has a backlog of 24,000 outstanding pension quotations and 1,500 unresolved complaints by MPs. The government has provided £7.2 million in interest-free transitional support loans to more than 1,300 members affected by the delays.
Broader concerns have emerged over Capita's handling of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS). Thomas-Symonds said assurances given by Capita's head over the CSPS transition have not been met, and some members failed to receive regular payments after Capita took over in December, according to The Independent. Despite these failures, Labour awarded Capita a £370 million, decade-long contract to manage payroll, HR, and recruitment for four Whitehall departments, as reported by GB News. Trade unions warned that more than 250,000 civil servants could face potential salary delays due to this contract.
Following a failure to meet critical transition milestones and a lack of confidence in Capita’s ability to implement and transition to the new operating model in a timely fashion, I’m announcing today to the House that I have terminated the new Royal Mail statutory pension scheme contract with Capita.
Capita had an 18-month planning window to prepare for the transition. They failed to deliver numerous milestones, including a failure to implement the required IT automation.
The security and dignity of those who have dedicated their careers to our public services are not negotiable, and they deserve a pension service that is reliable, efficient and secure.
But for these principles to be more than just words, they need to be underpinned by rigorous accountability and refusal to accept second best.
We sought and were given explicit personal assurances that the transition would be handled with the utmost care and that any backlogs would be managed effectively. I’m sorry to say those assurances have not been met.
It is clear in any event that the delivery of the service to civil servants since the transfer on December 1 last year has fallen far short of the required standard.
I want to say that the stories we have heard of members missing mortgage payments and falling into hardship are distressing and entirely unacceptable. No-one should have to face such financial anxiety after a lifetime of dedicated public service.