Capita officially misses government's 30 June deadline on Civil Service Pensions

In April, the Paymaster General, Nick Thomas-Symonds, said Capita was expected to be delivering the full requirements of the contract by today. Only days ago, Cabinet Office Minister Satvir Kaur told Parliament that if Capita failed to meet that deadline, "all options" would be considered and the government would not hesitate to hold the company to account.

Today, PCS is asking one simple question: what happens now? If ministers were serious about this deadline, they must explain what action they will take against Capita and when members can finally expect the pensions service they have been promised.

Despite repeated assurances, the crisis continues to be characterised by:

• Unacceptable delays in processing pension cases, with around 1,500 of the most complex cases still outstanding;
• Poor communication and weak accountability for escalated cases;
• Growing evidence that the backlog is wider than previously understood; and
• Concerns that the significance of the 30 June deadline is already being downplayed.

PCS is also concerned by reports from members working on the Civil Service Pensions contract. Staff from several teams have told the union they are being instructed to upload large volumes of data into live systems despite known system and validation issues. Members fear this is being done to accelerate processing and demonstrate progress against the government's deadline, despite concerns that it could increase the risk of errors affecting pension records.

The missed deadline also raises wider questions about the government's decision to award the Synergy contract to Capita, which will deliver payroll and HR services for more than 250,000 civil servants across several government departments. At a time when Capita has repeatedly failed to meet key milestones on the Civil Service Pensions contract, PCS believes it is deeply concerning that the company has been entrusted with responsibility for administering the pay of hundreds of thousands of civil servants.

PCS general secretary, Fran Heathcote says: 

"The government set a clear deadline for Capita, and today that deadline has been missed. Ministers promised Parliament there would be consequences if Capita failed to deliver, so we need to know what happens now. 

"Thousands of people are still waiting for pension payments, retirement quotes and other vital decisions. Ministers must now explain how they intend to hold Capita to account. The only way to restore confidence is to strip Capita of this contract and bring Civil Service pensions administration back in-house."

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