Latest PCS parliamentary briefing dominated by Capita issues

A packed agenda included updates on the various national and departmental campaigns and disputes. We discussed at length the ongoing Capita pensions fiasco. MPs were astounded to hear that Capita has been named as the preferred bidder to handle the payroll for more than 250,000 civil servants.

DWP, acting as the lead department for the programme, has selected the outsourcing company as preferred provider for payroll covering staff in the DWP, Home Office, Ministry of Justice and the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.

The deal sits within the government’s “Synergy” shared services cluster, part of a strategy to collapse 286 legacy systems into five major platforms through a single cloud-based system to cover HR, payroll, finance and procurement.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “Capita is already at the centre of a pensions crisis that has left retired civil servants in distress.  Privatisation is a failure, so why does the government continue to reward those responsible with yet another massive public contract?"

The parliamentary group agreed to raise urgent questions to ministers regarding the matter.

Departmental issues discussed included the DWP and DfE office closures, the ongoing Parliamentary security guards dispute, the Fair Work Agency and called for a debate on funding in the culture sector.

You can download and read the full briefing and actions provided to MPs