The Public Accounts Committee has asked the Cabinet Office to provide a \u201creliable\u201d date for the recovery of the Civil Service Pension Scheme as calls grow to bring the service back in-house.<\/p>\n
Capita, which took over administration of the CSPS in December, with crisis quickly ensuing, agreed with the Cabinet Office in January that it would recover the scheme to contracted service levels by the end of June.<\/p>\n
However, PCS has claimed\u00a0the Cabinet Office told unions recently that this pledge would not be met and that the surge civil servants brought in to aid the recovery will need to remain in place beyond this month. The Cabinet Office has not confirmed this claim. Last week, Capita said it was eyeing up a “more normalised” <\/a>service by the end of June which\u00a0“may not represent full recovery across all services”.<\/p>\n PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has written to Cabinet Office permanent secretary Cat Little to seek \u201creassurance for worried pensioners and their dependents\u201d on \u201cwhen target service levels will be restored for the Civil Service Pension Scheme, in line with HMG\u2019s contractual arrangements with Capita\u201d.<\/p>\n Citing PCS’s claim, he said: \u201cI really think it is incumbent on the Cabinet Office to provide a proper and reliable date so that scheme members can plan their future with some certainty.\u201d<\/p>\n Clifton-Brown has requested this information by 24 June, ahead of a joint scrutiny session it is holding with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on 8 July, where Cabinet Office senior officials and minister for the Cabinet Office Nick Thomas-Symonds will be questioned on the pension crisis.<\/p>\n As uncertainty grows over whether Capita will meet the end-of-June target, Prospect has joined\u00a0PCS in calling for the Civil Service Pension Scheme to be insourced.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two unions have jointly sponsored a petition, which has been signed by more than 4,000 people. Addressed to Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, it calls for the government to:<\/p>\n
Steve Thomas, Prospect\u2019s general secretary, said: \u201cThe ongoing failures in the administration of civil service pensions are causing real distress for our members. Civil servants who have dedicated their careers to public service should not be left facing delays, uncertainty and poor communication when it comes to their pensions.<\/p>\n \u201cProspect has consistently pushed for those affected to be properly compensated, and for urgent practical steps to protect the most vulnerable people caught up in these failures, including ill-health retirees, bereaved families and those facing financial hardship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe government must take urgent action to fix the backlog, compensate those affected and bring pension administration back in-house.\u201d<\/p>\n CSW\u00a0understands Prospect\u2019s position is that the administration of the scheme should not be brought back in-house immediately, but when Capita\u2019s contract ends, to avoid disruption at this critical time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tBring civil service pension administration back in-house
\n\tEstablish a compensation scheme for all who are affected by pension administration failures
\n\tClear the existing backlog as a matter of urgency, prioritising ill-health retirees, bereaved families, and those facing financial hardship
\n\tSuspend any further contract awards involving Capita until a full review of the procurement process and the company’s service delivery performance has been completed
\n\tHonour the government’s commitment to deliver the greatest wave of insourcing in a generation
<\/p>\n