Thursday
12th February, 10.00am, Grimond Room, Portcullis
House
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a brief session
with the National Audit Office to discuss its budget estimate for
the upcoming year, before hearing from the senior leadership of
outsourcing company Capita on the recent disruptions to the Civil
Service Pension Scheme at 10.00am on Thursday,
12th February.
The session will begin with a brief hearing in which the
Committee will ask questions about the NAO's own budget for
2026-27. The PAC, which has a statutory role in considering and
approving NAO's Main Estimate, will then formally decide whether
to approve the NAO's proposals, after its own evidence session in
due course.
The main body of the session will then be held on the civil
service pension scheme. Emergency hardship loans to have had to
be offered to public sector staff in response to serious issues
affecting members of the civil service pension scheme, of which
Capita took over administration at the end of last year.
Potentially thousands of recently retired civil servants have
been left waiting for their pension payments. In response, the
government has confirmed that interest-free “hardship loans” of
up to £10,000 will be offered to the thousands of people
experiencing financial hardship as a result of the failure.
In a joint statement with
the Cabinet Office, Capita has said it is working to resolve the
most urgent cases by the end of February. The PAC warned in
October 2025 of a clear risk that
Capita would not be ready to take over administration of the
scheme.
The PAC will hear from the representatives of Capita as it
explores the response to this incident and the potential
long-term impacts. MPs could also explore the impact this issue
has had on voluntary exit schemes across multiple government
departments, which many had seen as a critical aspect of their
savings plan for next financial year.
Witnesses from 10.00am:
-
, Comptroller and Auditor
General at National Audit Office
- Rebecca Sheeran, Chief Operating Officer at National Audit
Office
From approx. 11am
- Richard Holroyd, CEO, Capita Public Services
- Chris Clements, Managing Director, Capita Pensions Solutions
