Capita faces MPs over civil service pension failures
Capita is being questioned by MPs over mismanagement of the civil service pension scheme, causing financial distress for thousands due to delays and errors.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Senior officials from the outsourcing firm Capita are due before MPs in a rare joint hearing of the Public Accounts and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committees. They face questions about the company's management of the civil service pension scheme, one of the largest in the UK with nearly two million members. Long delays and errors have left many current and former civil servants in severe financial difficulty.
More than 2,500 people have had to take out emergency loans issued by the government, totalling over 15 million pounds. There are widespread reports of bereaved partners waiting months for death-in-service payments, people maxing out credit cards, missing mortgage payments, and being chased by bailiffs for unpaid bills. The Minister for the Cabinet Office, which has overall responsibility for the scheme, has already given evidence, describing the situation as 'completely unacceptable' and saying Capita has 'failed to meet its end of June milestone to return the scheme to required levels'.
Capita has apologised multiple times in recent months, but its share price dropped around 15% since the previous morning, reflecting growing frustration. MPs say they have heard too many broken promises from Capita about when the problems will be fixed and are concerned about the millions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on extra government staff brought in to help. A key question being asked is whether the civil service pension scheme should be brought back in-house. The government has not committed to that but says every option is on the table.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| Capita failed to meet its end of June milestone to return the pension scheme to required levels. | |
| More than 2,500 people have had to take out emergency loans totalling over 15 million pounds due to pension delays. | |
| MPs are concerned about the millions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent on extra government staff to help fix the problem. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC focused on the human impact of the pension failures, detailing specific financial hardships faced by members such as emergency loans, missed mortgage payments, and bailiff action. It also highlighted the rare joint committee hearing and the minister's strong criticism of Capita, as well as the company's falling share price and the question of bringing the scheme back in-house.
- “The position we find ourselves in is not good enough. It's completely unacceptable. And I am deeply sympathetic to the many members of this scheme who've dedicated their careers to public service and have been treated frankly so poorly by this provider.”
- “Capita's already apologised multiple times over recent months, but its share price has dropped around 15% since just yesterday morning, just one sign of the growing frustration at how it is dealing with these problems.”
Broadcast Timeline
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