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<p>The Cabinet Office, acting as the Civil Service Pension Scheme Manager, has met
on a number of occasions with representatives of Unite the Union (Unite), Capita Land
Services and MyCSP to discuss issues surrounding Pensionable Pay for members of the
Defence Fire and Rescue Services that were transferred to Capita Fire and Rescue.
Work is currently ongoing towards resolving these issues.</p><p> </p><p>The Civil
Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) is supported by a robust governance model that includes
audits carried out annually by the National Audit Office (NAO) and the Government
Internal Audit Agency (GIAA). The scheme is also responsible for providing scheme
accounts which are fully audited on an annual basis. Alongside this, the scheme is
required to implement the legislation for pensions effectively and pay the correct
benefits. I am comfortable that the administration of the pension scheme is adequate
and robust and that there are effective policies and procedures in place to resolve
issues impacting members.</p><p> </p><p>To support all employers in performing their
duties required for the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme there are
several different functions that employers can utilise:</p><ul><li><p><strong>Dedicated
on-boarding team </strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Guidance and Notifications </strong></p></li><li><p><strong>Employer
Training</strong></p></li></ul><p> </p><p>When an employer joins the CSPS, they must
complete a legal document called an Admission Agreement (AA) and ensure that the parties
comply with their obligations set out in it. The AA is signed in triplicate by the
provider, the contracting authority and Cabinet Office. To ensure employers are meeting
their requirements we:</p><p>Internally have:</p><ul><li><p>Interface Compliance Model
- which reviews the monthly interface quality which is supplied from employers. Capita
Fire and Rescue are working with the Scheme Administer to bring their interface up
to date. Once this has been completed, a review of all pensions in payment will be
completed to ensure that the members are receiving the correct benefits.</p></li><li><p>Annual
Assurance Statement (AAS) - The purpose of the AAS is to assist the Cabinet Office’s
Accounting Officer, to carry out their responsibilities to the Civil Service Pensions
Scheme. It reminds employers of their fundamental roles and responsibilities in relation
to the scheme and gives the opportunity to highlight any issues.</p></li><li><p>Employer
Engagement Matrix - The Employer Engagement Matrix tracks employer performance and
measures against set criteria which are either essential and desirable. This is to
provide an overview of several different metrics to identify if employers falling
down in their duties.</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>Externally we have:</p><ul><li><p>Annual
audits carried out by both the Government Internal Audit Agency and the National Audit
Office.</p></li><li><p>An independent external company (ITM) has recently carried
out a data audit which identified no material concerns.</p></li></ul><p> </p>
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