§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Minister for the Civil Service if he will(a) authorise the repayment of the £35,000 immediately to the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance and (b) compensate the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance for the outlay it made between receiving the payable order and sending a cheque when asked for its repayment; and why he originally sent this organisation a payable order for 764W £35,000 in respect of funds accrued from the underpayment of Civil Service pensions due to a miscalculation in the retail prices index and then asked for the £35,000 to be refunded.
§ Mr. LuceMy officials will authorise payment of £35,000 awarded to the Civil Service Pensioners Alliance (CPSA) from the RPI error funds as soon as Parliament approves a supplementary estimate for the funds.
My officials have written to the general secretary of the CPSA to explain and apologise for the delay. The withdrawn payable order was issued in the (mistaken) belief that funds could be authorised in advance of parliamentary approval of a supplementary estimate. I regret the disappointment and inconvenience this may have caused, but I cannot compensate the CPSA for the delay.