Capita has been reported to the information commissioner by the Cabinet Office over a data breach in the civil service pension scheme. <\/p>\n
The outsourcing company is now fighting to retain its \u00a3239 million contract administering hundreds of thousands of pensions.<\/p>\n
Capita was referred to the regulator over a data breach in early April that led to pensioners receiving access to other members\u2019 details.<\/p>\n
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Concerns have been raised about Capita\u2019s ability to run the pension contract effectively after processing issues blocked pensioners from accessing their retirement savings. Government departments have been handing out interest-free loans to recent retirees facing financial difficulties, with the total value of lending now standing at more than \u00a37 million.<\/p>\n
It is understood that the glitch occurred when Capita introduced new functions to its software platform. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister, has demanded Capita restore service levels by the end of June, and said the government will \u201cuse every commercial lever at our disposal\u201d to ensure targets are met.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Capita\u2019s contract with the Cabinet Office is worth \u00a3239 million over a seven-year period, with an option to extend for a further three years. The total number of members in the retirement programme is 1.7 million, of which about 740,000 are receiving payments.<\/p>\n
Capita took over the contract from MyCSP in December. It said it took on a backlog of more than 80,000 cases.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the information commissioner said: \u201cThe Cabinet Office reported an incident to us and we are assessing the information provided.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
One source told The Times that the latest data breach was particularly concerning given Capita\u2019s history of information leaks, most notably in a cyberattack that compromised the data of 6.6 million people<\/a> in 2023 and led to a \u00a314 million fine for the company. The source said the more recent issues were \u201cnot as drastic\u201d as that cyberattack but were \u201cclearly a sign that Capita data security has not improved\u201d.<\/p>\n