Andy Burnham

Yesterday I visited the National Oceanography Centre, with the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), to learn about the UK’s leadership in polar science, and the real highlight was that I got to meet Boaty McBoatface. Will the Minister tell us a bit more about how the FCDO is co-ordinating cross-Government work to deal with emerging climate and security threats, as well as how we can leverage the UK’s leadership in science and technology, climate finance, diplomacy and defence to that end?

It is good to be back. Given the accelerating rate of Arctic sea ice melt, we are not many years away from an ice-free summer in the Arctic, with huge implications for sea levels, ocean currents and weather systems, and growing commercial pressures for exploitation in the Arctic. Having been the Minister with responsibility for the British Antarctic Survey, I am delighted again to be chairing the APPG for the polar regions and to have joined the Minister at the Arctic Circle Assembly. Does she agree that in both the Arctic and the Antarctic, we are on the frontline of not only some very important science for global planetary sustainability, but geo-diplomacy and technology, with an increasing wild west, which this country has a major role to play in helping to regulate and convene good players in?

I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for those remarks, but with Russian-linked interference operations continuing to target democratic elections across Europe, does he feel that the current arrangements are sufficient? He will know that the European democracy shield is developing new structures to co-ordinate action against foreign interference and disinformation, so what discussions has he had with our European partners about ensuring that the UK is fully involved in those efforts, including the proposed European centre for democratic resilience, so that we can better identify and respond to Russian attempts to undermine democratic elections across Europe?

Stuart is 83. He lives in a care home in my constituency, which his pension pays for, but that pension stopped for four months over the summer, and even after my constituency office intervened he has had less than a quarter of those arrears paid back. Anna, another of my constituents, is in her 80s. She has just come out of hospital, and she is owed a staggering 17 years’ worth of widow’s pension. In July, Capita told me that the payment would be made within two weeks. In August, it said that it had no notes on file from that July meeting. In September, it told me that payment would be made within 10 days. On the 15th of this month, it said that it was still awaiting human authorisation. Last Friday, I was told that four members of Capita’s staff were working directly full time on her case. Would the Minister like to join me this Friday at 11 o’clock for my next weekly Capita casework call to try to ensure that Anna finally gets some of those 17 years’ worth of pension payments?

I thank the Minister not just for her statement but for the tone of her statement, which I am sure will be very much appreciated by many of my constituents, including Kathy, who has given 26 years of her life in service to the Ministry of Defence and the Prison Service, yet Capita’s failure means that her retirement has been blocked three times in just over a year. A fortnightly dashboard is welcome, but what guarantees can the Minister give that Kathy and thousands like her will receive their pension payments on time? Will the auditor’s report be published in full for MPs and the unions?

Several of my constituents are in financial hardship as a result of Capita’s failings. This appalling company has even sent out financial statements and letters with figures deliberately obscured so that former civil servants do not know what they are entitled to. MPs across the House have clearly lost confidence in Capita, so will the Minister agree for the Cabinet Office itself to set up a hotline for MPs to raise cases and hold regular surgeries so that we can ensure that our former civil servant constituents get the money that they are entitled to?

Capita has missed its deadlines and failed in its obligations to my constituents. Supposed priority death-in-service cases, such as Derek’s, are unresolved, and people have been left grieving for over a year without having received what they are entitled to. Quotes such as Anne’s, who retired from the Scottish Prison Service nearly seven months ago, have still not been provided, and annual benefit statements have been delayed, leaving people concerned that they will not be paid accurately when they finally are paid. We should insource this scheme. I appreciate the Minister putting that option on the table, but my constituents deserve transparency as well as action. If not the full report, will the Minister publish just the recommendations from the independent remedial adviser’s report?

I thank the Minister very much for her understanding of these issues and her perseverance in trying to deliver results. Everyone in the House can understand her annoyance. The facts are deeply concerning. While the Government and Capita point to putting in place specific milestones for what they count as “workable stock”, the hard data shows that hundreds of priority bereavement and death-in-service cases remain completely trapped, some over 100 days old. Given that the independent remedial adviser and technical audit reports are due this month, will the Minister outline exactly what robust commercial penalties or legal enforcement measures are being prepared against Capita if it fails to restore full contractual service levels immediately?

I have many constituents who are caught up in this hell—this limbo. Some of them have been waiting for more than a year. However, I also have teachers writing to me concerned about the transfer of the teachers’ pension scheme from Capita to Tata that is now under way. Thinking about lessons learned, what advice would the Minister offer to her counterpart in the Department for Education?

I thank my hon. Friend for this statement. Like everybody else, I have cases that I have contacted the Minister about, but today I want to raise something else—something that has been consistent across all the cases that my office has dealt with on a regular basis, which is how my constituents are being treated when they call the Capita helpline. My constituents describe being laughed at and being told that, regardless of what happens in this House, it will be up to Capita to decide when they actually get their pensions. These individuals—people who have served this country well for many years—are getting increasingly desperate, as they have often had no income for up to a year. Nobody should be treated without dignity or respect by anybody acting in the name of this Government. I ask my hon. Friend to engage with her officials to ensure that the message that this is completely unacceptable is driven through to Capita.

I have been contacted by constituents whose complaints Capita has closed without resolution and whose pension quotes have disappeared. I heard the Minister say that old cases will not be allowed to sit in backlogs without progress, but my constituent, who served 43 years in the Department for Work and Pensions, alleges that this is an example of Capita manipulating closure figures. Will the Minister say how the Government are monitoring Capita to ensure that complaints are closed only once they have been resolved and that quotes do not disappear?

I thank the Minister for her robust work in this area. Capita’s handling of the civil service pension is nothing short of a disgrace. I have seen people taking out loans, falling into debt, having bailiffs sent to their houses and suffering serious mental distress because of this sham. That cannot be how we treat people who have dedicated their lives to public service. While I welcome today’s statement, the Government changes and the much-needed action that the Minister is taking, my constituents want Capita to face consequences. What consequences has Capita already faced? Will she guarantee that further failure will mean further consequences?

What should I say to my constituent, a stage 4 cancer patient, who applied for his civil service pension in April and has heard nothing? What should I say to him about the fact that, as his Member of Parliament, I wrote about his case to the Cabinet Office on 26 August—two months ago today—and have equally had no reply and heard nothing?

My constituent Denise lost her husband in September last year, and in the more than a year since she has been passed from pillar to post by Capita, as have many of my other impacted constituents. Now Capita tells me that it has lost the form that Denise submitted in January. Does the Minister share my disgust at this rank incompetence? Will she do everything she can to help Denise and my other constituents?

Another weekly surgery, another Capita complaint—this time, a constituent was told on one of her many calls to Capita that she would have to wait while they accessed the spreadsheet because someone was already using it. When the Minister talks about some slow improvements in technology, one can only imagine that Capita’s starting point was a typewriter and abacus. Even with the support of officials, does the Minister really trust Capita to safely deliver an AI-enabled service to our constituents?

I thank the Minister for her update and recognise that she is working hard to try to resolve what is a heartbreaking situation for so many pension recipients. I have seven cases currently open with the Department, including the case of a constituent who retired on 1 May but, despite repeated correspondence, has received no payment since then. Another constituent, whose case I first raised with Capita in January, ahead of his retirement in spring, finally received a quotation, with payments expected, only for Capita to decide that the quotation was wrong. He is now back to square one, and is still not receiving any payments. Will the Minister undertake to investigate those two particular cases, as well as others that my office has raised with the Department, and ensure that they are resolved?

I thank my hon. Friend for her statement. As I have mentioned in the House before, my constituent Mr Fraser served as a prison officer until he retired in 2020, yet six years on he is still waiting for his accurate pension. Like many impacted by the McCloud remedy, he has been met with barrier after barrier, with little to no explanation—as have I, when I met Capita as recently as the summer. Can she update the House on what specific steps are being taken to clear the McCloud cases so that Mr Fraser can receive what he is entitled to?

In North East Fife, civil service pension delays are not the only issue. I have previously spoken in this House of the “Jobs Forgotten” campaign for retired former police officers who are dealing with the failings of the Scottish Public Pensions Agency, so I found the comments from the hon. Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart) interesting. My question to the Minister is this: one of the things my office is finding is that, just as they manage to sort out somebody’s case, a new one comes in, so I appreciate the interest and focus on complex cases, but are we not just firefighting if we are not stopping new cases emerging in the first instance?

Like many other MPs, I am still being contacted by constituents about their civil service pensions and the unacceptable delays. It is deeply concerning that my constituent Julie, who retired from the civil service in February, had her pension finalised only in September, and these delays are causing huge distress and financial hardship. If we are going to pay compensation, should it not be paid by Capita, not from any pension pot, and will that be done without having to navigate any lengthy or tiresome claims process?

I congratulate my hon. Friend on getting a grip of this issue. I am a member of the Public Accounts Committee and, as we have heard, we have had repeated undertakings from Capita that improvements were imminent. Despite that, many of my constituents are still waiting for quotes and pension payments. The Minister has set out clearly that Cabinet Office officials are effectively taking over the delivery from Capita. Does she agree that this is a shambles and that Capita should pay for its failures?

Like many right hon. and hon. Members, I have constituents who have not had their pensions paid. In the worst case, a constituent has waited for 11 months without a pension. My question is twofold. First, what compensation will the Minister force Crapita—sorry, Capita—to pay those constituents who have missed out? Secondly, there are tax implications for the sequencing of payments, so payments can fall in different tax years, among other things. Will that all be squared away with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, so that our constituents do not overpay tax?

I declare an interest, as I hold a civil service pension. I thank the Minister for her statement. Like other Members of the House, I have a number of constituents who provided years of service in the civil service. They have retired yet have had to wait months to be paid. Could the Minister say more about the pressure she is putting on Capita and the options for taking the whole matter in-house?

Let us not sugar-coat this: the contract has been a complete flop. Yes, it was awarded under a past Government, but now it is under the current Government—but of course the Prime Minister is setting the standard of not playing the blame game, although I have heard a lot of that today. What my constituents want to hear is when this will be sorted out. Ministers have talked about a recovery plan in April—fail. They talked about a recovery plan in June—fail. They talked about a recovery plan in September —fail. There has been failure after failure after failure. Will the Minister answer the question put by my hon. Friend the Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire (Mike Wood), and tell us whether Capita will be given any other Government contracts? Will my constituents be compensated? This Government wanted to be in government, so now that they are, may I ask when the Minister and the Government will take responsibility for this, take control of the contract, and get it sorted out, because my constituents are suffering?

I have raised in the Chamber previously the appalling delays that my constituents are experiencing in gaining access to their civil service pensions. Those delays continue. Another problem they are experiencing is that if they do not agree with the amount that they receive when they finally receive it, there is no response to their concerns from Capita and, indeed, no response to my correspondence on their behalf. Will the Minister raise with Capita the need for it to respond, as a matter of urgency, to my constituents who are receiving lower amounts than they expected, and to make corrections where necessary?

A constituent of mine from Somerton applied for retirement nearly a year ago, but has had to withdraw her application twice because she has not received her pension quotation, and she obviously cannot afford to retire with no income. My caseworkers have been attending the fortnightly casework meetings regularly, but there has been no resolution of this issue and many others like it. If neither Capita or the Cabinet Office can resolve my constituent’s problem, will the Minister intervene personally and tell my constituent when she will finally be paid?

Communications with Capita did get better for a time, but I am afraid they have dropped off a bit now. Let me share with the House the sad case of a constituent who came to us in May 2026. She had spent two hours on the phone to Capita; she could not get through, and she had two pensions unpaid. She had retired from the Department for Work and Pensions with breast cancer. In June, she was contacted by another scheme member—a completely different person—who said that on two occasions, she had been sent my constituent’s details, both the annual benefit statement and some other details about the scheme, which was an appalling breach of GDPR. Can the Minister please help me to resolve that case, as it is still outstanding, and will she consider compensation for those who have waited for more than two years, and from whom I have many emails in my inbox?

My constituents will welcome the robust tone of the Minister’s statement, but what difference will this make for constituents such as John Carroll from Annan, who worked at Dumfries prison and who has been waiting since February to hear anything meaningful from Capita? What difference will it make to the likelihood of a response?

I thank the Minister for her update. I appreciate the focus on complex cases—Members across the House are dealing with many of them—but can I ask that she also looks at the paid-for fast-track services? I have a constituent who paid almost £700 for a pension valuation in order to finalise his divorce. It was expected within 10 working days, but it took nine months; the wait cost him several times the original amount. Does the Minister agree that that is entirely unacceptable? What action will she take to ensure that Capita refunds any payments taken for so-called fast-track services that are nothing of the kind?

Only on Friday, I spoke to a constituent who gave notice of retirement in March and still has not had his pensions quote. I commend the Minister very much on the very hard work she put in over the summer, after the actions I took and the statement that I made to the House in July. Looking to the future of the scheme, can she assure me that she will direct officials to do the preparatory work to make sure that the different insourcing options are viable ones that we can put to the House?

As the Public Accounts Committee Chair said, we have had Capita before the Committee on many occasions. In all my time in the House, I do not think I have seen a worse example of incompetence, failure to deliver to deadlines, and a company seemingly just not caring about its effects on people and the distress it is causing. Every time Capita’s representatives come along, I simply do not believe a word they say. Does the Minister really have any confidence, even with all the guardrails that she is putting in place and all the connections to the Cabinet Office, that Capita is capable of delivering a scheme that actually works and delivers pensions on time? Secondly, I congratulate the Minister on what she said about looking into bringing the scheme in house; it is a pity the previous Government did not think about that before they let the contract. Will she commit to updating the House regularly on how far she is progressing with those possibilities? In the end, bringing the contract back in house may be the only option for giving pensioners a proper scheme, given Capita’s failures.

I thank the Minister for her statement. I, too, am on the Public Accounts Committee, and as the hon. Member for North Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) mentioned, we have done our best to get reasonable responses from Capita. My constituent Jane has been failed time and again by Capita; there has been a five-year delay to her pension payments, poor communication, an unexplained suspension of her pension, and now an outrageous demand that she repay £8,000 because of Capita’s mistake, not hers. Will the Minister condemn that treatment and reassure my constituent that the Government will ensure that she is treated fairly following those serious errors? Will they ensure that Capita, as a contractor acting on behalf of the state, is properly held to account for its failures? That has not happened so far.

The right hon. Member for Salisbury (John Glen) says that people should be held accountable for their actions, but let us remember that the Conservatives allocated this contract to Capita, knowing that it was a recidivist, continually breaking contracts that had been outsourced. It is totally unacceptable that a woman living in Upton in my constituency who gave 40 years of her life to public service has been left with no response from Capita for over 300 days since we contacted them. Since then, she was diagnosed with cancer. We can imagine the problems that people affected by this issue face in any event; pile on the problems that she has with illness, and we can imagine the personal anguish. Has the Minister been able to establish whether Capita is in breach of contract? Finally, let me say this: bring it back in house.

Like many MPs across the House, I have a number of constituents who have been affected by this issue. I thank the Minister for her comprehensive response, but there is an issue that concerns me more than anything. When the procurement process happens, it seems that officials come to us and assure us that a series of decision points have been gone through, and that the options before us are the best ones available—as a former Minister, I recognise that. However, when these things go wrong, nobody is individually accountable. What would the Minister say to our constituents, who are alarmed at the fact that nobody is apparently responsible for such a dire outcome?