FOI/202600513615 · FOI · unclear
Scottish Public Pensions Agency - data relating to NHS Remedy cases: FOI release
Information requested
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
This response sets out how SPPA defines and applies bulk processing, the volumes of remaining cases, and how delivery cohorts for 2026 and 2027 have been determined.
1) Context of the data provided The data presented relates solely to NHS Remedy cases remaining in scope at the time of extraction. Over 12,000 NHS Remedy cases have already been successfully processed and issued using SPPA’s automated bulk calculation solution prior to this dataset and are therefore excluded from the figures below.
2) Definition of bulk processing For NHS Remedy delivery, 'bulk' refers to cases capable of being processed using SPPA’s Python‑based automated bulk calculation solution. This solution allows thousands of cases within a defined cohort to be processed simultaneously, as opposed to manual case‑by‑case calculation. Cases may move into bulk processing once prerequisite activities (including any necessary revision work) are complete. Bulk processing is not limited to any specific protection category.
3) 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
4) 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.
5) 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.
6) 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.
Figures provided are case volumes and should not be interpreted as individual member counts.
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