To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any (i) contractual penalties; (ii) service credits; and (iii) other enforcement mechanisms, that are available to his Department in relation to Capita’s performance in delivering Personal Independence Payment assessments.

Under the Functional Assessment Service (FAS) contract, the Department has a number of mechanisms available to address underperformance by Capita in the delivery of health assessments. The terms of the Northern Ireland FAS contract are fully aligned with corresponding contracts across Great Britain. The contract payment model links Capita’s performance to the amount of profit it receives each month, known as the Target Fee. The monthly Target Fee may be reduced as follows:

(i) Contractual penalties apply where monthly contractual clearance targets are not met. Where minimum performance thresholds are not met, the Target Fee is reduced to zero.

(ii) Service credits are applied against six Personal Independence Payment (PIP) performance measures, covering key elements of the service, including report quality, the proportion of aged cases, timeliness of Special Rules End of Life cases, the proportion of appointments cancelled by Capita at short notice and appointment waiting times.

(iii) Other enforcement mechanisms include Serious Performance Failure (SPF) deductions for sustained underperformance against minimum performance thresholds. These deductions are calculated as a percentage of Capita’s cost base. A SPF also triggers the formal Rectification Plan process. While the contract is designed to support improvement in performance, persistent failure may result in the Department exercising its contractual right to terminate all or part of the contract.