brought in an independent auditor<\/a> to assess its systems and ordered the firm to appoint an independent remedial adviser to \u201cforce rectification\u201d.<\/p>\nJameson said that the report from remedial adviser Grant Thornton\u00a0found that Capita\u2019s rectification planning was \u201cwholly insufficient\u201d, its technology \u201cweak\u201d, and its ambition \u201cwas falling well short of restoring the quality services that members deserve\u201d. It also found that Capita didn\u2019t apply \u201cthe right techniques to understand demand, productivity and capacity\u201d and failed to put in place \u201ceffective mechanisms to detect and escalate failure\u201d, she said.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Jameson did not give details on the auditor\u2019s report but\u00a0said the Cabinet Office and Capita have worked together to develop a new \u201ccredible, workable and realistic\u201d recovery plan out of the recommendations made by both the remedial adviser and auditor,\u00a0\u201cfor which Capita alone will be held to account\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As part of the plan, Cabinet Office officials now have full access to Capita systems and data for the first time, and expert teams are working alongside Capita to agree priorities, improve quality and processes, and ensure that pensions are paid correctly, she said.<\/p>\n
The new recovery plan is made up of five workstreams: the first three looking at cases of differing levels of complexity; the fourth ensuring significant exercises such as the McCloud remedy are not overlooked; and the fifth, on technology, tackling \u201cissues around infrastructure that support delivery\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will require Capita to evidence its focus on fixing complex cases, ensuring that this plan makes the difference that Capita\u2019s original plan could not,\u201d Jameson said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A group of experts, drawn from across the civil service and led by the Cabinet Office, will provide \u201cchallenge and advice\u201d. On this move, Jameson noted that \u201cthese problems were not created by civil servants, but it will be through the expertise, commitment and perseverance of the civil service that operational delivery is supported and we shape the solutions with Capita\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As part of the plan, Capita has committed that every member with a complex case will be written to in the next month, \u201censuring that they understand where they are in the system and how they will be supported\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOld cases will no longer be allowed to sit on backlogs without progress,\u201d Jameson said. \u201cAny stuck quote or payment will be actively managed through revised complex case management.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cabinet Office will continue to publish fortnightly scheme updates on the pension scheme website \u2013 showing the number of outstanding complex cases broken down by age, the service levels for straightforward cases and the number of other tasks that are outstanding \u2013 until performance has been stabilised, the minister said.<\/p>\n
Asked about the timeline for delivering the\u00a0latest recovery plan, Jameson said she didn\u2019t want to \u201cset a date here today and end up with there being disappointment\u201d. But she added that \u201cif we do not start to see pretty rapid improvement over the next month, I will come back to this House and explain the next steps that might be taken\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u2018Too many are still left waiting in limbo\u2019<\/p>\n
Since taking charge of the CSPS remit in July, Jameson said she has met Capita\u2019s chief executive and senior team twice, and on both occasions \u201cexpressed in no uncertain terms my outrage at their performance throughout this contract\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cComplex issues remain unresolved for too long \u2013 1,800 cases for more than a year,\u201d she said. \u201cAlthough some individuals have more than one case, too many members and family are still left waiting in limbo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jameson said Capita\u2019s claim that the firm achieved its September recovery goals \u201cdoes not reflect members\u2019 lived experience or my own correspondence\u201d, calling them \u201cself-imposed, self-determined and self-assured targets\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said Capita has also \u201ccomprehensively\u201d failed to deliver on its commitment to provide \u201cthe most AI-enabled pensions service\u201d.<\/p>\n
Jameson said the administration issues have also had a \u201cknock-on effect\u201d on the progress of Capita\u2019s work on the McCloud remedy and promised to update MPs on that issue next month. Earlier this month, Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little said implementing the remaining McCloud remedy\u00a0cases by the deadline of March 2027 was \u201cno longer achievable\u201d.<\/p>\n
The minister said there were some areas of improvement:\u00a0Capita is now processing more priority cases than it receives,\u00a0 there is more automation, and new tools are being rolled out that allow eligible spouses and dependents to view pension payslips and make online inquiries.<\/p>\n
She also acknowledged that Capita staff on the ground are \u201cworking hard in difficult conditions\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Responding to Jameson\u2019s statement in the House of Commons, Public Accounts Committee chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown warned that \u201cthe situation is worse than she has outlined\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have had four PAC inquiries into Capita\u2019s administration scheme this year, and it has missed virtually every single one of the deadlines that it set out in each of those hearings,\u201d Clifton-Brown said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Capita says teams are \u2018working tirelessly\u2019 on outstanding cases<\/p>\n
A Capita spokesperson said the firm is \u201cdeeply sorry for the frustration that the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme has caused members and their families\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that behind every outstanding case is a person waiting for the pension they have worked for and are entitled to receive, or a family trying to get support at an already incredibly difficult time,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have made progress. But there is still a lot more to do and the service is still falling short for members. Our teams are completely committed to getting this right and are putting everything they can into resolving these issues. They are working tirelessly to resolve outstanding cases as quickly as possible, with particular focus on people who have been waiting the longest and those facing financial hardship or challenging personal circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesperson added: \u201cThere is nothing more important to us right now than the administration of this scheme. We are working closely with the Cabinet Office and will continue that work until members are receiving the reliable, timely service they expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Update on the scheme\u2019s future\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the longer-term future of\u00a0the scheme, Jameson said meetings with\u00a0trade unions, practitioners and experts have\u00a0made clear that the focus should be on \u201crestoring operational resilience and member trust\u201d. Officials will now evaluate the viability of a range of future delivery options, including insourcing all core business operations, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a number of different insourcing models in operation across the public sector that we will learn from, and we will consider which is the best approach to take for the civil service pension scheme and all the other schemes that it interacts with,\u201d Jameson said. \u201cOnce those assessments are complete, I will return to the House to provide a further update, but in the here and now, Capita must deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concluding her statement, Jameson said the government\u00a0\u201cinherited a broken, outsourced administration\u201d and \u201ccannot replace a complex pension operation overnight\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut,\u201d she added, \u201clet me be clear: this government will hold Capita to account and continue to apply the most stringent commercial levers, and we will not rest until every civil servant receives the pension they are entitled to.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Senior officials from across the civil service will help Capita to steer a new recovery plan for the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948281,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[45,49,48,133,131,132],"class_list":["post-948280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-finance","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}