Capita said it had inherited a backlog of more than 86,000 cases rather than the 37,000 it had expected. By early February, that backlog had risen to over 120,000 cases.
The UK government introduced a recovery plan in February. This included 150 government staff and 100 extra Capita staff being drafted in to prioritise the most urgent cases, and an emergency interest-free loan scheme.
Appearing before the public accounts committee that same month, Capita bosses apologised for the problems and promised to resolve urgent and sensitive cases by the end of March.
In April, Capita apologised following a data breach, where 138 members’ details were accessible online.
The company’s contract to run the Royal Mail pension scheme was terminated later that month.
Paymaster general Nick Symonds said Capita had failed to meet “critical transition milestones” and that there was “a lack of confidence in its ability to implement and transition to the new operating model in a timely fashion”.
Symonds also criticised Capita’s handling of the civil service pension scheme, saying it had “fallen far short of the required standard”.
He said stories of members missing mortgage payments and falling into hardship were “distressing and entirely unacceptable”.
“No-one should have to face such financial anxiety after a lifetime of dedicated public service,” he added.
Capita said it was continuing to work with the Cabinet Office to establish normal service levels.
“Additional trained resource remains in place, and our focus is on ensuring members of the Civil Service Pension Scheme receive the service they expect and deserve,” said a spokesperson.
“We are sorry for the worry and frustration these delays are causing.”
