Question
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.
Answer
I am sorry to learn of the terrible experience of the hon. Member’s constituent; there are many more like it. If she would like to write to me about that, I would be happy to look into it. I will continue to hold Capita to account. We have withheld nearly £10 million of contractual payments, and Capita is voluntarily invoicing a 10% reduction in its fee until the service is restored to an appropriate level.
Verdict: AMBER (46/100)
The Minister responded with sympathy for the constituent's experience and set out concrete action on the contractor, including nearly £10 million in withheld payments and a voluntary 10% fee reduction until service is restored. However, the reply did not explicitly condemn Capita's handling of the five-year delay, the unexplained suspension, or the £8,000 repayment demand, and it only offered to look into the individual case if the constituent writes in. The overall reply is largely hedged, so the constituent would likely need to raise the specifics again to get a clear answer on their own case.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Minister condemn the treatment of the constituent by Capita, including the five-year delay to pension payments, the unexplained suspension of her pension, and the demand that she repay £8,000? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The Minister expresses sorrow for the constituent's "terrible experience" and says "there are many more like it", but never explicitly condemns Capita's treatment, the five-year delay, the unexplained suspension, or the £8,000 repayment demand. |
| Will the Government reassure the constituent that she will be treated fairly following these errors? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply offers only to look into the case if the constituent writes in, which defers the matter rather than giving any reassurance that she will be treated fairly. |
| Will the Government ensure that Capita, as a contractor acting on behalf of the state, is properly held to account for its failures? | Addressed | Direct | The Minister commits to continue holding Capita to account and points to concrete measures: nearly £10 million of contractual payments withheld and a voluntary 10% fee reduction until service is restored. |