Analysis | Capita - Delivering 'Systemic Maladministration' yet Still Paid Millions by Stormont.

Capita - Delivering 'Systemic Maladministration' yet Still Paid Millions by Stormont.

Capita continues to be paid millions by the Executive, despite overwhelming evidence of the harm being caused. We look at who Capita is and how they are profiting from pain. Sara Boyce | Mon Nov 29 2021

Capita is an international outsourcing company, headquartered in London. It was founded in 1984 and has 61,000 employees worldwide. It operates across six divisions: Software; Technology Solutions; People Solutions; Customer Management; Government Services and Specialist Services.

Capita has benefited from contracts with various Stormont departments, including Communities, Justice, Finance, Infrastructure, Agriculture and Economy.

Despite sustained criticism from many quarters, Capita’s contract with the Department for Communities to carry out assessments regarding the eligibility of sick and disabled people to receive a social security income (Personal Independence Payment) was extended in 2021 for a further two years at a projected cost of £31 million.

Company and Financial Information

Capita’s Chief Executive is Jonathan Lewis. Before joining Capita in December 2017, Mr Lewis was with Amec Foster Wheeler, after working for 20 years with Halliburton Company Inc, a company whose former subsidiary KBR was accused of fraud in a civil suit connected to its activities during and after the Iraq war.

In 2020 Mr Lewis made £1,112,325 as Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer at Capita PLC.

For the 6 months ending 30 June 2021, Capita’s adjusted revenue was in line with the previous year at £1,584.7m (H1 2020: £1,582.1m). Adjusted profit before tax increased by £56.4m to £45.3m (H1 2020: loss £11.1m)

We have developed the Corporate Network Explorer to help the public connect the dots between companies like Capita and the people who control them using available information provided by Companies House.

You can also read a corporate profile of Capita on Corporate Watch.

Investigations & Questions

A number of high-profile independent investigations into Capita’s delivery of the Personal Independence Payment contract have been carried out.

All have been highly critical, with the NI Public Service Ombudsman’s report of June 2021 finding evidence of ‘systemic maladministration’ and an NI Audit Office report of March 2021 calling for in-house PIP assessments to be piloted.

In September 2021 the Right to Work: Right to Welfare campaign, Advice NI, Advice North West and East Belfast Independent Advice Centre published the results of a survey of front-line advice workers regarding their experiences of CAPITA and the Department for Communities social security decision making process.

In response to a Stormont assembly question for the attention of Minister for Communities, Deirdre Hargey in September 2021, the Minister said;

“From the introduction of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Services Contract in June 2016 to July 2021, Capita failed to meet contractual service levels on 264 occasions across 17 key performance targets. This has resulted in financial penalties being levied totalling £2,393,956.30.”