Scottish Public Pensions Agency - data relating to NHS Remedy cases: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202600513615

At the Scottish Parliament Public Audit committee, Dr Stephen Pathirana, Chief Executive Officer stated that the “bulk” of NHS staff would receive their Remedy information by the end of 2026. On the basis that this statement was made to the Committee, I assume that the SPPA have a clear, defined plan to support this statement.

Please provide the number and percentage of NHS staff who will be included/addressed in this “bulk” terminology. In addition, he stated that the remaining will be addressed in 2027. Again, I am assuming that there is a defined plan to support this statement. Can you provide me with the number and percentage of staff who will be provided their statement in 2027. Can you advise how SPPA have selected individuals to be included in the 2026 cohort and the 2027 cohorts.

Response

Following this review, I have concluded that the information provided in our original response was unclear and not presented in a way that clearly addressed the specific question. I apologise for this and I therefore set out the information below in a more direct format.

Taking each question in turn, your original request asked for:

1) Please provide the number and percentage of NHS staff who will be included/addressed in this “bulk” terminology.

Our original response :

Remaining cases currently identified for bulk processing

Based on current operational planning data, the following remaining NHS Remedy cases are suitable for automated bulk processing:

• Unprotected: 3,449 cases
• Protected: 3,911 cases
• Tapered: 6,213 cases
• Total remaining bulk cases: 13,573 cases

Total remaining NHS Remedy cases in scope

The total remaining NHS Remedy case population reflected in current plans is:

• Unprotected: 6,182 cases
• Protected: 10,565 cases
• Tapered: 11,919 cases
• Total remaining cases: 28,666 cases

This means that approximately 47.3% of the remaining cases are currently suitable for bulk processing, with the remainder requiring manual or complex processing.

Our review response:

Having considered our response I believe it would have better answered the question if it had been more directly structured as :

The total number of NHS cases that we describe as being addressed by bulk processing is 13,573, this equates to 47.3% of the remaining NHS cases.

2) Can you provide me with the number and percentage of staff who will be provided their statement in 2027.

Our original response:

Delivery by end of 2026 and during 2027

The remaining bulk cases form the main cohort supporting the statement that the bulk of NHS Remedy cases will be delivered by the end of 2026. The remaining cases are planned for delivery during 2027 and predominantly consist of complex manual or revision cases.

Our review response:

Having reviewed our response I have found it did not answer the question directly.

For clarity, the total number of NHS Remedy cases remaining to be processed at the time of the data is 28,666.

Based on the data held, 13,573 cases are planned for completion by the end of 2026. The remaining 15,093 cases require more complex or manual processing and are expected to be delivered after 2026.

While these cases are expected to be progressed during 2027, SPPA does not hold a definitive or fixed breakdown of how many will be completed within that period. This reflects the fact that delivery timelines are influenced by factors such as data quality and case complexity, meaning projections beyond the overall cohort remain subject to change.

3) Can you advise how SPPA have selected individuals to be included in the 2026 cohort and the 2027 cohorts.

Our original response :

Basis for cohort selection

Allocation of cases to delivery cohorts is based on processing characteristics, including suitability for bulk automation, data completeness, and operational sequencing. We try to prioritise members who are most likely to benefit from the Remedy choice. This includes members who have retired on ill health grounds. However, these tend to also be the more complex cases. Because we are developing calculation capability incrementally, on our journey to being able to serve these more complex cases we achieve the ability to serve some of the simpler cases, so we do when we can. For this reason, it should be noted that member cohorts considered high priority may not be those who are ultimately served the earliest.

Our review response :

Having considered our response, I am satisfied that it addresses the question asked.

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