Civil service pension scheme

That this House notes that thousands of retired civil servants are facing financial hardship and distress, after pensions and lump sum payments failed to arrive on time; further notes these payments are to those who rely on these as a sole source of income; also notes that this has resulted in retiring civil servants who cannot pay mortgages, rents and household bills, incurred bank charges and late payment fees, are being forced to borrow money or rely on family support, are experiencing severe stress and anxiety in retirement and includes bereaved spouses waiting months for survivor pensions; acknowledges Capita inherited a backlog of 90,000 unresolved cases from the previous contractor; believes that pensioners are waiting more than nine months for money they are legally entitled to receive, that these actions are a fundamental failure to deliver the most basic function of the pension scheme; criticises responses provided thus far, regarding Capita’s resourcing levels or a credible timetable for clearing the backlog; demand that Capita be directed to prioritise hardship cases; supports PCS in its calls for a compensation scheme for interest on overdue pension payments, additional financial costs caused by delays, and the distress and inconvenience caused; further believes that that this work should be run by the civil service, under ministerial control, so that it can be properly resourced and pensions paid on time; and calls on the Government to make good on its promise of the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation.