Question
I have to say that I found the Minister’s statement extraordinarily complacent and singularly unhelpful. It is a damning indictment of successive Governments’ failure to get to grips with a full-blown pension crisis. It is not good enough to simply criticise Capita. We know how bad it is. People want real and decisive Government action, so will she commit to bringing the scheme in house, ensuring that meaningful emergency payments are paid out to people who are in real trouble, and get to grips with solving this issue, once and for all?
Answer
I do not accept at all that this is not a meaningful plan. I set out in some detail the measures and the resources that the Cabinet Office is putting in to get this whole process back on track, so that it delivers for scheme members. Many former colleagues of mine have been affected. Everybody is working night and day to try to rectify the situation. As I said, we are looking at all options for insourcing, but we do not want to do anything that will bring further disruption for scheme members. Everything we do must be member-led and in their interests, but of course we are looking at all the options. Significant work is going into contingency planning and future options for the civil service pension scheme.22% vibes
Verdict: RED (22/100)
The reply does not give a committed answer to most of what was asked. It mentions insourcing only to say the government is 'looking at all options' and avoids a decision. It does not address emergency payments for people in financial hardship at all. On a lasting fix, it describes measures and contingency planning in general terms without specifics, so the person who asked would likely need to follow up.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Government commit to bringing the scheme administered by Capita in house? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply names insourcing but does not commit to it, saying only that the government is 'looking at all options' and does not want further disruption. That is a noncommittal position rather than a yes or no with a reason, so it is only partly responsive. |
| Will the Government ensure that meaningful emergency payments are made to people who are in real financial trouble because of the problems with the scheme? | Not Addressed | Generic | Nothing in the reply mentions emergency payments or people in financial hardship; it refers only generally to measures and resources to get the process back on track and to people working night and day. |
| Will the Government take action to get to grips with and solve the underlying issue once and for all? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply asserts that measures and resources are being put in to get the process on track and that contingency planning and future options are being developed, which gestures at action. It does not commit to a definitive fix to the underlying issue or address the 'once and for all' element. |