CAPITA, whose chairman Rod Aldridge made a £1 million loan to the Labour Party, has won at least four big contracts from the Government since the general election.

Mr Aldridge, a lifelong member of the Labour Party, has seen the company’s value grow from £100 million ten years ago to £2.4 billion today.

Capita, whose business is linked to its standing in Whitehall, made its fortune bidding for, and taking, contracts from the public sector. Since the election it secured the payroll provision for the Independent Police Complaints Commission — no value given; but Capita says that it is the third Home Office agency it is now working for.

In February it was awarded the £120 million contract to represent the Department for Trade and Industry over miners’ personal injury liability claims. In December it won the contract to administer the British Waterways pension scheme — no value given. In September it was given the contract to provide IT services to the Department of Work and Pensions. It also collects the BBC’s licence fee and administers the London congestion charge.

Chris Grayling, the Tory transport spokesman, tabled a series of questions yesterday about ministers’ links to Capita. The questions include: “How much business has his department placed with Capita Group and its subsidiaries in each of the past five years? What is the total value of outstanding contracts placed with Capita Group? What meetings have he and his ministers held with directors and senior executives of Capita Group?”

The company’s own website lauds its contacts in Whitehall. “Our multiple contacts and contracts across central government enable us to play a core role in the reform of public services, meeting e-government targets, joining up government initiatives and achieving a cultural change in service delivery,” it says. “Capita’s breadth of expertise positions us well to assist with meeting these challenges.”

Capita has been embroiled in controversy. It was involved in the disastrous launch of the Criminal Records Bureau in 2002. The company was fined almost £2 million for its failings in providing criminal checks on people working with the vulnerable.

In 2000 Capita was appointed as the customer service provider for the Individual Learning Accounts Scheme, which ran £70 million over budget. After the scheme was wound up, in 2001, the National Audit Office said that it had been introduced too quickly without proper security measures.

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