Question
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?
Answer
Some of Capita’s classifications for cases—“workable cases” and that sort of carry-on—are not something that the Government ever recognised; that classification was not in the contract, and it is something that Capita has made up. I was very clear when I first met the CEO of Capita that I do not recognise that. Capita said that those bereavement cases would be resolved by 1 September. If any of those have not been resolved, then frankly that is a missed deadline. In relation to what further action we could take, as I have said, my predecessor already withheld £10 million in contractual payments. Capita is receiving 10% less each month on a voluntary basis while the service remains as poor as it is. The Government now have at our disposal the Procurement Act 2023, which allows us to take into account poor performance when regarding other contracts.11% point-scoring
Verdict: AMBER (66/100)
The reply addresses the question directly by naming specific enforcement options: withholding £10 million in contractual payments, an ongoing 10% monthly reduction in payments to Capita, and powers under the Procurement Act 2023 to consider poor performance on other contracts. It does not say what would be prepared if service fails to recover immediately, so the question is answered only in part. A member of the public would have concrete information on the available measures but might still ask what the contingency plan is.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| What commercial penalties or legal enforcement measures are being prepared against Capita if it fails to restore full contractual service levels immediately? | Addressed | Direct | The reply names concrete commercial and legal levers: the predecessor's withholding of £10 million in contractual payments, the ongoing 10% monthly reduction in payments to Capita, and the Procurement Act 2023 power to take poor performance into account on other contracts. Read together, these answer what enforcement measures are available if service does not recover, though the reply does not explicitly say what would be prepared if restoration fails immediately. |