Commons Debates Digital Accountability, Equitable Life and Jarrow’s Legacy
High-Level Summary
The sitting opened with a Science and Technology Committee statement on the Government’s response to its report on digital government. Members discussed digital spending, legacy systems, data security, vendor lock-in, technology sovereignty and accountability; Chi Onwurah welcomed some commitments but questioned the absence of clear ministerial responsibility. The main debate concerned compensation for Equitable Life policyholders: Members called for fuller redress and greater transparency over unspent funds, while the Pensions Minister said there were no plans to reopen previous policy decisions and that continuing annuity payments remained protected. The sitting concluded with a debate marking the 90th anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade, focusing on industrial renewal, youth employment, skills, workers’ rights and investment in the north-east; the motion was agreed and the sitting was adjourned.
Detailed Summary
Digital Government: Science and Technology Committee statement
Gill Furniss chaired a statement by Dame Chi Onwurah, Chair of the Science and Technology Committee, on the Committee’s third special report and the Government’s response. Onwurah identified four foundations for digital transformation—funding, people and skills, information and data security, and delivery—and four barriers: hype, legacy systems, vendor lock-in and lack of technology sovereignty. She said that inadequate information about departmental digital spending weakened accountability and that reliance on major providers, including Palantir, created risks. The Committee had called on the Government to exercise the February 2027 break clause in the federated data platform contract. Onwurah welcomed commitments to develop a strategy to end vendor lock-in and to co-ordinate work on legacy systems, but criticised the absence of a public-sector definition or cross-Government strategy on sovereignty. She said, “we do not know how much is being spent and on what”, and warned that “without clear leadership” the digital transformation might not succeed.
Jim Shannon and Anneliese Dodds asked questions about accessibility, public confidence, data protection, competition and co-operation with European partners. Onwurah said that people should not need to be digital experts to use public services and agreed that the UK should work with European allies on technology sovereignty, saying, “we should be working with our European allies on this matter”. The transcript records no decision or division on the statement; the sitting was then suspended. The Government response’s promised action plan and remediation plan, subject to security considerations, were noted, but no further timetable was stated in the transcript.
Equitable Life policyholders: compensation
Fabian Hamilton moved that the House consider compensation for Equitable Life policyholders. He referred to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s findings of regulatory maladministration, the Government’s acceptance of £4.1 billion in relative losses and the allocation of approximately £1.5 billion for compensation. He argued that approximately 895,000 policyholders received only about 22.4% of their acknowledged losses, and referred to an Equitable Members Action Group calculation that approximately £171 million of allocated funding was unspent or held as contingency. Members including Desmond Swayne, Christopher Chope, Sam Rushworth, Martin Rhodes, Peter Swallow, Jim Shannon, Ruth Cadbury, Andrew George, Tessa Munt, Sarah Olney and Richard Fuller raised concerns about the level of compensation, transparency, the use of any remaining funds and the exclusion of pre-September 1992 with-profits annuitants. Hamilton’s central argument was: “When the state accepts responsibility for a mistake, and acknowledges the financial losses flowing from it, the state should make good in full”.
Torsten Bell, the Pensions Minister, explained that the scheme was based on relative loss rather than a direct cash-loss calculation, and that the original allocation reflected the public finances and the balance between policyholders and taxpayers. He said that the contingency fund covered longevity risk for with-profits annuitants, that the scheme had been closed in 2016, and that payments made by the scheme totalled just under £1.4 billion as at 30 September 2026. He stated, “there are no plans to reopen the previous policy decisions”, while assuring Members that funding for continuing payments to eligible annuitants remained protected. Hamilton maintained that the scheme should be reopened and that remaining funds should be considered for further compensation. The motion was agreed: “That this House has considered the matter of compensation for Equitable Life policyholders”. No change to the compensation scheme was announced in the transcript.
Jarrow Crusade: 90th anniversary
Kate Osborne led a debate chaired by Wera Hobhouse on the legacy of the 1936 Jarrow Crusade, when around 200 unemployed men walked nearly 300 miles to London carrying a petition from their community. Members connected the historical campaign against unemployment, poverty, poor housing and industrial decline with current concerns about youth unemployment, insecure work and regional inequality. Osborne called for further investment in the north-east, including shipbuilding, skilled employment and opportunities for young people. Jim Shannon drew parallels with industrial decline in Northern Ireland and supported investment in shipbuilding and employment. Sarah Olney called for lower national insurance contributions, implementation of secondary legislation under the Employment Rights Act 2025 and apprenticeship reform. Peter Fortune argued that current policies risked further deindustrialisation and asked how the Government would support competitive manufacturing. The debate also discussed the Prime Minister’s meeting with descendants of the marchers; Osborne said it “helped to right the historic wrong by giving the families the welcome that the marchers should have received back in 1936”.
Chris McDonald, the Minister for Investment, said that the Government regarded civil maritime capability as a strategic asset and referred to procurement, the National Shipbuilding Office, a forthcoming shipbuilding and maritime technology action plan and investment in maritime decarbonisation research and development. He also outlined youth employment measures, including youth guarantees, youth hubs, a youth jobs grant and opportunities to earn and learn, and defended the Employment Rights Act as a means of improving job quality and fair competition. In response to a question about learning from the devolved Administrations, he pointed to collaboration between industry and colleges and said that the Government would consider the findings of Alan Milburn’s review of young people not in education, employment or training. He concluded by referring to “investment in industry, support for skills, stronger workers’ rights and renewed opportunities for young people”. The motion was agreed: “That this House has considered the legacy of the Jarrow Crusade on the 90th anniversary”, and the sitting was adjourned.