Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 April 2026

Letter from Catherine Little CB, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary on administration of the Civil Service Pensions Scheme, dated 24.3.26

From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Summary

Catherine Little, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, responds to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme following her March 2026 evidence session. She updates on recovery milestones: arrears clearance by end April 2026, restoration of normal service levels by end June 2026, and addresses member service complaints, financial support measures including a £3.5 million Transition Support Loan Scheme, and Capita's contract performance failings.

Key findings

Arrears clearance for inherited pension cases from MyCSP expected by end April 2026; restoration of normal service levels (processing new requests within SLAs) targeted for end June 2026.
Capita has failed majority of 21 Key Performance Indicators in the Civil Service Pension Scheme contract; three milestone payments remain unpaid and final Contract Performance Point payment withheld pending performance standards being met.
Transition Support Loan Scheme launched February 2026 has paid 646 interest-free loans totalling £3.5 million to eligible civil service pensioners facing hardship; loans of £5,000 standard, up to £10,000 exceptionally, repayable within 28 days of pension receipt.
Member complaints regarding bereavement call handling escalated to Capita; government surge staff being deployed to support capacity; standardised Mitigation Letter being developed for members to share with lenders.
McCloud remedy programme (separate from operational recovery) requires issuing revised statements to approximately 74,000 pensioners and 21,000 deferred members by mid-2027 to address historical age discrimination.

Tone

Procedural

Topics

public-financepensionspublic-sector-employmentprocurementcustomer-service

Key actors

Catherine Little CB, Simon Hoare MP, Capita, Cabinet Office, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, Pensions Recovery Taskforce, Sam Carling MP, Charlotte Cane MP

Notable line

“… based on available data, the Cabinet Office maintains that Capita has failed the majority of these KPIs.”

Key Quotes

“Arrears clearance for the inherited pension cases from MyCSP refers to the work to clear the existing backlog of overdue payments to members, which we expect to be completed by the end of April”
— Catherine Little CB · defining primary focus areas of the recovery plan

“I have escalated the specific case regarding the quality of call handling with Capita as a matter of urgency, and they are investigating this to ensure appropriate action is taken.”
— Catherine Little CB · addressing member complaints about bereavement call handling

“… based on available data, the Cabinet Office maintains that Capita has failed the majority of these KPIs.”
— Catherine Little CB · assessing Capita's performance against 21 contractual Key Performance Indicators

“The Pensions Recovery Taskforce is focused on supporting Capita to clear arrears by April and restore full service by June”
— Catherine Little CB · summarising operational recovery objectives

“As of 10 March 2026, Civil Service employers had reported to the Cabinet Officer they had paid 646 loans with a total value of £3.5million.”
— Catherine Little CB · reporting uptake of Transition Support Loan Scheme

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗