Written questions by Onwurah.

What steps he is taking to help tackle content advising individuals to misrepresent health conditions for financial gain though the benefits system.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 24th March 2026 to PQ 123138.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using generative AI to assist people making benefit claims.

We are adopting artificial intelligence in the Department for Work and Pensions to help colleagues deliver better outcomes for customers and to improve productivity and efficiency. While generative artificial intelligence is not currently used to assist people directly in making benefit claims, the Department continues to explore how digital tools, including artificial intelligence, could improve and enhance the claimant journey and make it easier for people to access support. This work is focused on improving access, usability and overall user experience. Any future use of artificial intelligence would be subject to robust safeguards and appropriate ethical, legal and governance controls.

What support is available through his Department and Jobcentre Plus to help disabled people find suitable part-time employment.

We are committed to providing disabled people who want to work with the right support to find employment, including part-time work and self-employment, that meets their specific circumstances and ambitions. In addition to Work Coach support, our Pathways to Work Advisers provide one-to-one personalised support to disabled customers to help them move towards, and into, work. More than 65,000 people have already chosen to receive support from these advisers over the last year. Outside of Jobcentre Plus-based support, our voluntary and locally-commissioned, £1bn Connect to Work Supported Employment programme offers specialised employment support to disabled people, those with health conditions and people with complex barriers to employment. The programme provides participants with tailored support, including vocational profiling, finding good job matches and on the job coaching. It will support around 300,000 people across England and Wales by March 2030. We are also expanding the WorkWell programme to cover all of England by autumn 2026, to provide integrated, holistic early help to up to 250,000 people with health-related barriers to work. The Department for Work and Pensions also works with employers to encourage them to adopt flexible recruitment practices, including reduced-hours roles, alternative shift patterns and other adjustments that make jobs more accessible, including through the use of assistive technology.

What support is available through his Department and Jobcentre Plus to help single parents with childcare responsibilities find suitable part-time employment.

As set out in our Child Poverty Strategy, this Government is committed to boosting family incomes, supporting single parents and reducing the earnings gap within couple households by transforming employment support and removing barriers to work. The Government recognises that high childcare costs can affect parents’ decisions to take up paid work or increase their working hours, which is why we offer financial assistance and 30 hours of free childcare a week through the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme. Following the publication of the Child Poverty Strategy, we are continuing to engage across the voluntary and community sector to understand and address issues facing parents and carers, including single parents. In Universal Credit, working families can claim up to 85% of eligible childcare costs each month, up to a maximum of £1071.09 a month for a single child and £1836.16 a month for families with two or more children at the 2026/2027 rates. At the Budget, we announced that in 2026-27 we will help parents in work who have larger families by providing UC childcare support for each additional child beyond the first. Lead carers within Universal Credit also have different conditionality requirements that reflect their childcare responsibilities.We are also supporting parents to balance work and childcare through the Make Work Pay legislation, which strengthens rights to request flexible working arrangements. We are rolling out free breakfast clubs in schools across the country, helping parents manage work schedules whilst ensuring children have a positive start to the day. Parents and carers can also benefit from our wider employment support initiatives including Inactivity Trailblazers in England and Wales, Skills Bootcamps, the Sector-based Work Academy Programme, the Adult Skills Fund, and personalised help for sick and disabled people through Pathways to Work. Further to this, DWP currently deploys around 300 Family Community Work Coaches in England to support the most vulnerable families in society with multiple, complex needs to make significant, positive changes in their lives that move them towards employment. As we design and develop the new Jobs and Careers Service, we will ensure support is more personalised to meet individuals’ needs and help them overcome their specific barriers to work. We are also testing bringing services and support into the heart of communities, for example through partnership delivery in Family Hubs, Jobcentre vans and community pop-ups.

With reference to his Statement UIN HCWS1044 on 11 November 2025, what procedures and circumstances led to the 2007 research report not being provided to his predecessor.

The Secretary of State announced in his oral statement of 11 November 2025 that we will retake the decision made in December 2024 as it relates to the communications on State Pension age. This was because findings from a 2007 report had not been drawn to the attention of the previous Secretary of State as its potential relevance to the making of her decision was not evident at the time. The process to retake the decision is underway and it is important that we give this full and proper consideration. Retaking the decision should not be taken as an indication that Government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress. We will update Parliament on the decision as soon as a conclusion is reached and on 2 December 2025 we committed to re-take the decision within three months.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of State Pension age changes on 1950s-born women living in Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West constituency.

All women born since 6 April 1950 have been affected by changes to State Pension age. Estimates can be made using ONS 2021 Census Data on how many women born in the 1950s resided in each constituency in that year.

What recent estimate he has made of the number of families that are affected by the two child benefit cap in (a) the UK, (b) the North East and (c) Newcastle upon Tyne.

Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the two child benefit cap on people by ethnicity.

Statistics about the policy that limits support in Universal Credit to a maximum of two children are published annually. The latest statistics, published in July 2025, include breakdowns by geography and ethnicity, and are available here:Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2025 - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) availability and (b) portability of (i) digital infrastructure and (ii) IT services at Jobcentre Plus locations, in the context of support for (A) staff and (B) public users in accessing jobs and careers services through (1) self-service technologies, (2) artificial intelligence, (3) employer suites, (4) self-service screens and (5) other portable access points.

We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers. Our vision is for a Jobs and Careers service where people can access support through the channels that best meet their needs – digital where possible, human when needed. We are testing a range of flexible and accessible delivery mechanisms. These include early assessment of user needs, determining the appropriate course of action; Self-service check-in stations; Strategically placed digital screens, displaying local job opportunities; A dedicated customer TechBar, providing digital support; Multifunctional Hubs, supported by conferencing functionality. We are also testing bringing our core services directly to communities to meet underserved groups using mobile vehicles and pop-ups. In addition to these wider digital changes are underway that will include the update and rollout of revised customer computer systems. Furthermore, dedicated funding has been earmarked to support wider proof of concept testing including In-person transcription and summarisation; Real time translation capabilities; Video-based access to providers/suppliers. The insight gained throughout these tests will help to shape our future service model.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of working night shifts on the mental health of workers.

Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of working night shifts on (a) health, (b) safety and (c) productivity.

Reducing ill health at work is an important area of focus for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as outlined in their strategic objectives. One of the ways this is achieved is supporting employers to protect their workers’ mental health and keep them in the workforce. Having considered the impact of shift work on health and safety, HSE has published guidance for employers to support them in managing the risk (Managing shift work [HSG 256], published in 2006) which includes many factors that are relevant to mental health. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 all employers have a duty, so far as it is reasonably practicable, to protect the health, safety, and welfare at work of all their employees. Specifically, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require employers to assess health and safety risks to employees and to put in place arrangements to control those risks. Therefore, if an employer assesses shift work as a risk to mental health, they should introduce control measures including those outlined in the guidance.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of working days that were lost due to the effects of sickle cell disorder in the last 12 months.

The Office for National Statistics publish annual statistics on sickness absence in the UK labour market, which includes the reasons for sickness absence. However, the reasons are not provided in this data at the level of detail of specific conditions, such as sickle cell disorder.The latest statistics for sickness absence in the UK labour market can be found here: Sickness absence in the UK labour market - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

What steps her Department is taking with (a) charities and (b) other organisations with expertise in domestic abuse to embed trauma-informed principles into the operation of the Child Maintenance Service.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer I gave on 6 March to PQ 33879.

With reference to the Gingerbread report entitled Child maintenance: research on the experiences and impact on separated families published on 25 November 2024, whether her Department is working with charities and others with expertise in domestic abuse to embed trauma-informed principles into the operation of the Child Maintenance Service.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes the issue of domestic abuse extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that victims of abuse get the help and support they need to use the service safely.Incorporating views and feedback from external stakeholders with experience of domestic abuse, CMS has updated and refreshed its Domestic Abuse training which includes awareness of a Trauma Informed Approach. All CMS caseworkers have received training to help identify abuse, support vulnerable customers, and provide signposting. A Domestic Abuse Plan is in place to support caseworkers in having these conversations. Domestic Abuse training will continue to be reviewed regularly and developed with the support of stakeholders, including Gingerbread, as we develop policies and processes that support victim-survivors of domestic abuse.Additionally, there is work underway around the Trauma-Informed Approach across the Department, and CMS will, of course, be part of this work. This includes a dedicated programme that will integrate the six key pillars of the approach as defined by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities (December 2022).

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 21604 on Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence, whether her Department has taken steps to inform benefits claimants that machine learning is used by her Department to flag cases for further examination.

The DWP Personal Information Charter explains to benefit claimants how we use Machine Learning to help detect and prevent fraud and error.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 19693 on Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence, on what date her Department decided not to publish that equality impact assessment.

Machine learning is currently used to flag cases requiring further examination. Our equality analysis found no issues of concern as set out in the Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent consideration of the release of this information took place following receipt of Question 19693 on 13th December 2024 where the department considered the balance between releasing information and protecting the effectiveness of our fraud prevention and detection methods.

Pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2024 to Question 19694 on Department for Work and Pensions: Artificial Intelligence, what period of time her Department considers a regular interval.

Machine learning for tackling fraud is used to flag cases that require further examination. The departments Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) provides an annual assessment to Parliament on the impact of machine learning on protected groups and vulnerable claimants. Outside of the ARA the department will review its fairness analysis if new models are developed or there are changes to the existing model. There is no single timescale across the development, testing and operation of models.

What timetable her Department has for conducting a fairness analysis on the Advances Model artificial intelligence system in respect of potential bias according to race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, pregnancy, maternity or gender reassignment status.

DWP is committed to continue iterating the fairness analysis method and improving the data available for future analyses for the machine learning Advances model. Fairness analysis will be completed at regular intervals, the results of which will continue to inform regular decisions on the continued operation and improvement of the model as a reasonable and proportionate fraud prevention control.

If she will publish the equality impact assessment carried out prior to the introduction of the Advances Model artificial intelligence system.

DWP has considered the benefits and risks of publishing the results of Equality Impact Assessment. DWP has concluded it is not in the public interest to do so because it will undermine the effectiveness of the model as a fraud prevention control and therefore erode the ability to protect the public purse. You can find further information in the ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2023-24 (publishing.service.gov.uk) page 112.