Committee publication · Correspondence · 13 February 2026
Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary at the Cabinet Office relating to ‘Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme: Hardship loans’, 13 February 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: Civil service pensions
Summary
The Public Accounts Committee Chair writes to the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary expressing serious concern about Capita's administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, where unprocessed cases have risen from 86,000 to 120,000 and 16,000 emails remain unread. The letter urgently requests detailed information on hardship loan provision across government departments for pensioners affected by payment delays.
Key findings
- Capita's backlog of unprocessed cases has grown from 86,000 at takeover to 120,000, with 16,000 email enquiries unread
- Capita acknowledged 'the backlog overwhelmed us', confirming the Committee's October 2025 warning that Capita would not be ready for the 1 December 2025 takeover
- Committee seeks urgent information on hardship loan arrangements across government departments: how many offer them, loan terms, numbers and values granted to date, and Cabinet Office assurance mechanisms
- Committee expresses concern that pensioners should not fall through cracks of fragmented Whitehall response or be forced into hardship due to administrative failures
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Public Accounts Committee, Cabinet Office, Capita, Catherine Little CB, Civil Service Pension Scheme
Notable line
“Loyal and dedicated former Civil Servants should not be forced into hardship due to failures of government administration …”
Key Quotes
“… the backlog overwhelmed us”
“Loyal and dedicated former Civil Servants should not be forced into hardship due to failures of government administration, nor should they have to rely on emergency loans in retirement or, worse, be allowed to fall through the cracks of a fragmented Whitehall response.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗