Royal Mail decision must be repeated for civil service pensions

The termination of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme contract follows failures to meet key transition milestones and serious concerns about delivery, issues that are also evident in Capita’s handling of civil service pensions.

For months, PCS has raised concerns about ongoing failures in administration, with thousands of retired and soon-to-retire civil servants experiencing delays and errors in their pension payments, leaving many in financial distress.

PCS is calling for the government to act decisively by ending Capita’s involvement in civil service pensions and bringing the service back in-house to ensure accountability and proper service for members.

“Age of outsourcing will end”

The announcement today (22) followed a debate on the government procurement strategy where the Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary Chris Ward MP announced that as part of the strategy ‘the age of outsourcing will end’. This will be done by introducing a public interest test, which will apply to all government departments. Departments will be required to assess whether a service can be delivered more effectively in-house, and if it cannot, a clear explanation must be published. Departments will also for the first time be required to publish robust insourcing strategies.

Watch our video playlist on YouTube of MPs raising our concerns in parliament and calling for the pension scheme adminstration to be insourced.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said:

“The decision to terminate Capita’s role in the Royal Mail pension scheme sends a clear message which is: this can be done. When a contractor fails, contracts can and should be ended. The same must apply to the civil service pension scheme.

“We have consistently raised the alarm as civil servants and pensioners have been left in distress, facing delays and errors to the payments they rely on.

“It is simply unacceptable that this is allowed to continue when a clear alternative exists in bringing civil service pensions back in-house. The government must now act with urgency, end Capita’s contract, and prevent further failure."

What you can do

Use our e-action to write to your MP, asking them to write to the minister for the Cabinet Office, asking them to work with PCS to urgently resolve the issues with the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and to also sign the Early Day Motion 2710 on The Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Use our e-action to contact your MP about the Capita civil service payroll contract. Capita has been awarded a contract worth up to £950m over 10 years to run HR and payroll services for more than 250,000 civil servants, across some of the government’s largest departments. Use our e-action to email your MP asking them to support our demands and to write to the minister for the Cabinet Office, asking him to work with PCS to get the government to urgently reconsider their decision.