“People giving decades of their life to public service, and they’re now being let down”
Concerns with the running of the Civil Service Pension Scheme by Capita have been raised in Parliament by Cramlington and Killingworth MP Emma Foody.
Emma spoke during a debate in Parliament following serious concerns that have been raised with Capita, who have taken over the running of the Civil Service Pension Scheme from MyCSP, and the impact that the situation is having.
During the debate, she said:
“In the North East, this issue is particularly acute. We have one of the largest HMRC and DWP offices in the country in Benton Park View, often known locally as the Ministry, employing thousands of people. Civil service jobs, have long been a backbone of our local economy, with many local people giving decades of their life to public service, and they’re now being let down at the point where they should be able to rely on the system the most.
“I’m contacted regularly by constituents who are spending hours on the phone, sometimes two, three, four hours just trying to get an update on their pension, often then told that no one can help them, or that they’ll receive a call back in 7 to 10 days. Except, of course, that call never comes”.
The MP set out a series of local examples that she had seen including a person being doubled-taxed due to an error by Capita and another who after 29 years of work in the civil service retired but is yet to receive their pension and had been left relying on credit cards.
Emma went on to urge Ministers to “examine Capita’s performance closely” and to hold to account Capita and MyCSP for their failings and “ensure that people receive their pensions accurately, promptly and with the respect they deserve”.
Following the debate, Emma added:
“I have seen too many examples of people being badly let down by the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme which has caused real financial hardship and impacted on the retirement plans of many with decades of working in our public services.
“Whilst I welcome some of the measures being taken to try and mitigate the immediate issues, we need Capita to get a grip of the situation and resolve the situation urgently”.