Recommendations & Conclusions
9 items
2
Recommendation
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
More than half of members who are drawing their pension and affected by Remedy are facing unacceptable waits until as late as 2027 to have their pension options set out for them. Applying remedies to members requires MyCSP to send Remedial Service Statements (RSSs) to affected members, presenting them with …
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More than half of members who are drawing their pension and affected by Remedy are facing unacceptable waits until as late as 2027 to have their pension options set out for them. Applying remedies to members requires MyCSP to send Remedial Service Statements (RSSs) to affected members, presenting them with their two pensions options. As of 26 March 2025, MyCSP had issued RSSs for 58,000 members who are drawing their 2 pension (44% of those affected), above the target of 43% that the Cabinet Office set. Data from July 2025 shows that there are still 53% of affected members who are currently drawing their pension, who are yet to receive their RSSs and have their choices processed. The Cabinet Office has stated that it is aiming to reach all members by 2027 but does not yet have a plan to deal with the remaining members and has not chosen a supplier to carry out the work. As the Remedy programme started in 2021, this means the Cabinet Office is planning on leaving some members waiting for up to six years before receiving the information they need about their pension entitlement. recommendation The Cabinet Office should set out in its Treasury Minute response its plan for dealing with the remaining members who are drawing their pension and affected by Remedy. That plan should include how it intends to communicate to members when they can expect to receive information allowing them to make their choices.
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states that its new pensions administrator, Capita, is undertaking discovery work to develop delivery plans for remaining affected members. It expects to conclude discovery by December 2025 and communicate detailed delivery plans and timescales to members in the first quarter of …
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HM Treasury
3
Recommendation
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
The Cabinet Office has not demonstrated it has sufficient capacity and capability to manage the MyCSP contract effectively and has now failed on two occasions to adequately manage the transition from one supplier to another. The Cabinet Office accepts that the terms of the contract with MyCSP does not enable …
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The Cabinet Office has not demonstrated it has sufficient capacity and capability to manage the MyCSP contract effectively and has now failed on two occasions to adequately manage the transition from one supplier to another. The Cabinet Office accepts that the terms of the contract with MyCSP does not enable it to hold MyCSP to account for its performance, despite having made multiple changes to the contract over its lifetime. For example, despite MyCSP’s mixed performance record, the Cabinet Office has only successfully applied two fines of total value of around £260,000 over the course of the contract, against a total contract value of around £238m. Additionally, this is the second time the Public Accounts Committee has seen the Cabinet Office fail to manage the successful transition from one administrator of the Scheme to another without a drop in performance levels during that period. MyCSP’s poor customer service record over the last two years mirrors the same drop off that Capita was responsible for when it was handing elements of the Scheme administration over to MyCSP in 2014. recommendation The Cabinet Office should set out in its Treasury Minute response: a. how it intends to ensure that it has appropriate commercial capacity and contract management skills such that it can hold the administrator to account; and b. what measures it intends to put in place to ensure adequate customer service from suppliers in the transition period between contracts. 3
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states it has implemented a new contract with 38 Performance Indicators, including Key Performance Indicators, and a system of Service Points with associated penalties for various levels of failure, to ensure robust accountability and improved customer service from its new pensions …
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HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
There is a clear risk that Capita will not be ready to take over administration of the Scheme as planned on 1 December 2025. The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, of the eight transition milestones which have so far passed, …
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There is a clear risk that Capita will not be ready to take over administration of the Scheme as planned on 1 December 2025. The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, of the eight transition milestones which have so far passed, only one has passed with all elements delivered on time. The Cabinet Office has stated that the delays are due to Capita underestimating both the complexity of the transition and the time required to implement the technology. The Cabinet Office has also stated that in the worst-case scenario it plans to continue with MyCSP’s existing systems, however currently there is no agreement with MyCSP to keep its digital systems in place. The Cabinet Office told us that it was undergoing a reset plan over the summer with the intention of then making a “go/no-go” decision in September on whether to continue or not with the transition as planned. The decision to go ahead with the contract award has not yet been confirmed. 4 recommendation a. The Cabinet Office needs to fully develop contingency plans should Capita be unable to take over the administration on 1 December 2025. b. The Cabinet Office should write to the Committee with an update on the transition plans immediately following the decision on whether to go ahead with the transition.
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Government response AI summary
The government stated it has existing contingency requirements with MyCSP for system rollback and an option to extend support until May 2026 if needed. It confirmed the decision to transfer services to Capita on 1 December 2025 and informed the Committee Chair.
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HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office and from MyCSP on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (the Scheme) and arrangement beings made for the planned transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita on 1 December …
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On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Cabinet Office and from MyCSP on the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme (the Scheme) and arrangement beings made for the planned transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita on 1 December 2025.1
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Government response AI summary
The government outlined that Capita's financial model specifies minimum staff levels and will provide 6-monthly updates. Capita is actively recruiting an additional 60% of staff, many already undergoing training, to manage backlogs. The government confirmed the service successfully transitioned to Capita on 1 December.
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HM Treasury
9
Recommendation
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
Capita is planning to have 33 fewer staff in its first year running the Scheme than the 332 MyCSP had at the start of 2025.16 When we queried whether that would be enough to provide the right levels of service to customers, the Cabinet Office told us that it had …
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Capita is planning to have 33 fewer staff in its first year running the Scheme than the 332 MyCSP had at the start of 2025.16 When we queried whether that would be enough to provide the right levels of service to customers, the Cabinet Office told us that it had expected fewer staff to be required as increased automation and technology would enable Capita to operate with less resource. For example, it was assumed in Capita’s plans that 95% of transactions would be automated. However, it is clear that the Cabinet Office no longer expects that to be the case.17 This is because as part of the transition period, Capita has missed milestones for delivering its IT infrastructure and has agreed with the Cabinet Office to produce a simplified IT solution on 1 December 2025 to de-risk delivery, with further functionality currently expected to be deployed by March 2026.18 The Cabinet Office told us that with fewer transactions now expected to be automated than had been initially planned, Capita would need to replan resource levels accordingly.19 Remedy
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and states that Capita's financial cost model identifies the minimum staffing levels required and that Capita is recruiting an additional 60% of staff to bolster the team and deal with backlogs, with a large number already recruited and in training, and the …
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HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
MyCSP is no longer processing Remedy cases whilst the Cabinet Office considers how it wants to deal with these remaining cases. We asked the Cabinet Office if it has a plan for when the remainder of those who are currently drawing their pension can expect to be contacted about their …
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MyCSP is no longer processing Remedy cases whilst the Cabinet Office considers how it wants to deal with these remaining cases. We asked the Cabinet Office if it has a plan for when the remainder of those who are currently drawing their pension can expect to be contacted about their choice.22 The Cabinet Office stated that it is currently coming up with a plan for when and how to deal with the remaining affected members who are currently drawing their pension, and that it would be in a position to communicate timelines after the plan has been made. It said it is aiming to contact all members currently drawing their pension by March 2027.23 The Cabinet Office said that it is in discussions with potential suppliers with the aim of deciding who will take on the remainder of remedy work going forward.24
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees to provide revised options for the Remedy period (2015 to 2022) for the remaining 56% (circa 132,100 impacted members) with discovery work expected to conclude in December 2025. They expect to be able to communicate detailed delivery plans with associated timescales during …
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HM Treasury
12
Recommendation
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
The Cabinet Office was unable to tell us how it will decide which members may be waiting up until March 2027 and explained that this would be determined by the data and how the plan is constructed.25 It said that the data comes from multiple sources, in some cases it …
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The Cabinet Office was unable to tell us how it will decide which members may be waiting up until March 2027 and explained that this would be determined by the data and how the plan is constructed.25 It said that the data comes from multiple sources, in some cases it is held by employers, in some cases members will need to be contacted directly, and in some cases manual records would need to be examined.26 21 Letter from Cabinet Office, 28 July 2025 22 Qq 58-59 23 Qq 59-60 24 Q 67 25 Q 61 26 Qq 62-64 9 2 Managing the transition Contract management and transitioning to new suppliers
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees and is working on implementing the Remedy, including providing revised options to the circa 132,100 impacted members who are drawing their pension, with discovery work expected to conclude in December 2025 and plans to communicate detailed delivery plans and target timescales to …
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HM Treasury
21
Recommendation
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, of the eight transition milestones which have so far passed, only one has passed with all elements delivered on time.45 At the end of March 2025, the Cabinet Office had withheld £9.6 million from …
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The planned date of transfer of administration from MyCSP to Capita is 1 December 2025. However, of the eight transition milestones which have so far passed, only one has passed with all elements delivered on time.45 At the end of March 2025, the Cabinet Office had withheld £9.6 million from Capita in transition payments due to delays.46 To derisk delivery, the Cabinet Office and Capita have agreed to deliver a simplified IT solution in December 2025, delaying expected greater functionality until at least March 2026.47 Prior to our evidence session in early July Capita provided written evidence to the Committee to assure us of its readiness to take on Scheme administration on 1 December 2025. It argued that where milestones have been missed, these have subsequently been met and stated that it was “firmly on track to assume full administration of the CSPS from 1st December 2025” with “enhanced, innovative services for members for when the contract commences”.48
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees with the recommendation and has requirements in place with MyCSP to roll back the system should issues arise during the transition to Capita, allowing service delivery to continue with MyCSP until 31st December 2025, with options to extend support until the end …
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HM Treasury
23
Conclusion
49th Report - Administration of the Civ…
Accepted
We checked with the Cabinet Office what contingency plans it had should Capita’s IT systems not be ready on the transition date. The Cabinet Office asserted that it had several plans, including a more gradual roll-out of the Capita technology, and other options which are commercially sensitive, which it agreed …
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We checked with the Cabinet Office what contingency plans it had should Capita’s IT systems not be ready on the transition date. The Cabinet Office asserted that it had several plans, including a more gradual roll-out of the Capita technology, and other options which are commercially sensitive, which it agreed to share with the Committee confidentially.50 It also stated that in the worst-case scenario it plans to continue as it is today.51 However, currently there is no agreement with MyCSP to keep its digital systems in place. The Cabinet Office stated that it was undergoing a reset plan over the summer with the intention of then making a “go/no-go” decision in September on whether to continue or not 45 Q 72 46 C&AG’s Report, para 3.6 47 C&AG’s Report, para 3.7 48 CSP0003 49 Q 72 50 Q 74 51 Q 76 13 with the transition as planned.52 It has since written to the Committee to provide an update on progress made to produce a new delivery plan for the transition, which it says is due to be completed in mid-August 2025, and to elaborate on how it is ensuring that Capita implement IT improvements, and how it intends to monitor improvements.53 Market of suppliers
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Government response AI summary
The government states it has requirements in place with the current provider MyCSP in the event of a failure in the implementation cutover including the provision to roll back the system and options to extend support until the end of May 2026. It also states …
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HM Treasury