"The chair of the Public Accounts Committee sought reassurance that the Cabinet Office had shared details of Capita's performance on the CSPS before the DWP made its award to the outsourcing firm to provide HR, finance, and payroll services to the DWP, the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs."
"Scheme members, including around 1.5 million current and former public servants, soon began to complain of unrecognized passwords and usernames. They were forced to create new accounts, which were also unrecognized. Broken and circular links in a portal that appeared unfinished and untested also frustrated users."
"Retired civil servants in the UK have had their income slashed after payments from the system run by Capita failed to arrive, according to the BBC. Capita told the news outlet it was struggling with a bigger backlog of cases than had been agreed."
The chair of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has labeled the Department for Work and Pensions' decision to award Capita a £370 million shared services contract as "extraordinary," citing Capita's significant failings in managing the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Capita took over the CSPS in December following a £239 million contract award, but scheme members immediately experienced technical problems including unrecognized passwords, broken portal links, and payment delays affecting 1.5 million current and former public servants. The watchdog questioned whether the Cabinet Office shared information about Capita's poor CSPS performance with the DWP before awarding the new contract. The DWP award is already subject to legal challenge alleging Capita's bid was abnormally low, while Capita maintains the procurement process was robust.
#government-outsourcing #capita-contract-failures #public-sector-procurement #civil-service-pension-scheme #regulatory-oversight
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