Written questions by Anderson.

Whether their Department has run any (a) recruitment and (b) internship schemes aimed to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups in the workforce in the last year.

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future. Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that civil servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition. DWP offers several schemes to support disadvantaged groups to gain valuable work experience and employment opportunities. Most schemes offer fixed-term employment under Exception 2 of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles. Some also allow for conversion to permanency after 12 months under Exception 10 of the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of trends in the number of children in receipt of Disability Living Allowance on the long-term financial sustainability of that benefit.

Assessments of the financial sustainability of public expenditure as a whole are made on an annual basis by the Office for Budget Responsibility in their Fiscal Risks and Sustainability Report. Forecasts of Disability Living Allowance caseloads and expenditure for children are published in the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload Tables, under ‘Disability Benefits’, and will be updated following the Budget on 26 November.

What steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support people with disabilities to meet the cost of (a) energy bills and (b) transport (i) to medical appointments and (ii) in general.

I have regular meetings with colleagues across Government on ways to support disabled people meet the additional costs that can arise from a long-term health condition or disability. My department provides support with the additional generality of costs that can arise through provision of the extra costs disability benefits such as Personal Independence Payment. This is supported by provision from other departments: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero who provide support with energy bills through the Warm Home Discount Scheme; the Department for Transport who provide guidance on concessionary fares and free parking spaces; and the Department for Health and Social Care who provide for the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme for travel costs associated with medical appointments.

What the total cost to the public purse was for universal credit payments to people with humanitarian leave to remain in each of the last 3 years.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

If he will publish a breakdown of spending on Disability Living Allowance on children with (a) neurodevelopmental and (b) mental health disorders in each of the last 3 years for which data is available.

The information is in the table: Financial Year2022/232023/242024/25Neurodevelopmental Expenditure (£ millions)1,7702,2102,660Mental Health Expenditure (£millions)5608501,230 Points to note:Figures are for England and Wales only.Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 million pounds.Figures are from March – February for each Financial Year. For example, Financial Year 2022/23 includes March 2022 – February 2023.Mental health disorders include the following medical conditions:o Personality disordero PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)o Stress reaction disorderso GAD (generalised anxiety disorder)o Phobia specifico Phobia socialo Agoraphobiao Panic disordero Anxiety disorderso OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder)o Anxiety and depressiono Conversion disordero BDD (Body Dysmorphia Disorder)o Dissociative disorderso Depressive disordero Bipolaro Mood disorderso Schizophreniao Schizoaffective disordero Psychotic disorderso Anorexia nervosao Bulimia nervosao Eating disorder not specifiedo Munchausen syndromeo Factitious disordero Psychiatric disorders of childhood Neurodevelopmental disorders include the following medical conditions:o Learning Disabilityo Speech and Language Disorderso Autismo Asperger’s Syndromeo Dyspraxiao Hyperkinetic disordero ADHD/ADD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)The table refers to primary conditions only.

How many people with humanitarian leave to remain have (a) applied for and (b) received universal credit in each of the last 3 years.

The information requested for part (i) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.The Department publishes Universal Credit (UC) immigration status and nationality statistics as part of the Universal Credit statistics publication. These statistics can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-statistics-29-april-2013-to-10-july-2025. For part (ii) the number of people on Universal Credit with a humanitarian scheme immigration status, for each month from April 2022 to June 2025, is in Table 1 of the following data tables: Universal Credit immigration status and nationality statistics to July 2025.

What recent discussions he has had with (a) parents and (b) carers who have had to stop full time work following a child’s cancer diagnosis.

I met with the founders of “It’s Never You” in December 2024 and with “Young Lives vs Cancer” in May 2025. A wide range of Government Departments are involved in providing support for parents when looking after children in hospital for extended periods. The DWP provides support for parents of children with health conditions through Disability Living Allowance and Universal Credit. Disability Living Allowance is a benefit available to those under the age of 16 who, due to a disability or health condition have mobility issues and/or have needs which are substantially in excess of a child the same age without the disability or health condition. Receipt of Disability Living Allowance also passports families to a range of additional support including extra money in income related benefits. Universal Credit provides financial support for eligible parents through additional amounts such as child element, carers element and, for those with children on Disability Living Allowance, a disabled child addition. This financial support is available to households with low or no income.

If he will publish a breakdown of the number of Personal Independence Payments claims by type of mental health condition for the last 3 years for which data is available.

The complete breakdown of PIP claims by type of mental health condition from April 2013 to July 2025 (the most recent available data) is available on Stats-Xplore (https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml). Guidance on how to use PIP data on Stat-Xplore is also available here: Personal Independence Payment data on Stat-Xplore: user guide - GOV.UK. An account is not required to use Stat-Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions. The relevant information can be found in the ‘PIP Clearances’ dataset. To customise the reporting period, use the ‘Month’ filter to select the months you wish to include.Next, under the ‘Disability’ category, click the arrow beside ‘Psychiatric disorders’ and select ‘Disability’. This will ensure all disabilities under psychiatric disorders are included in the output.

What steps her Department are taking to encourage language learning in adults.

The Department for Work and Pensions supports adults aged 19+ in England who speak English as a second or additional language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. ESOL is funded through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), subject to the eligibility requirements laid out in the ASF rules. The ASF fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3. ESOL allows learners to develop the English language skills they need for everyday life, work or further learning. Currently, approximately 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF funded adult education for their residents and the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas where colleges and training providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF to meet the needs of their communities. In non-devolved areas, ASF funding is available for a range of languages for level 3 and below. These qualifications include, for example, the Level 1 Award in British Sign Language which allows learners to communicate in British Sign Language on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use.

If her Department will issue guidance to retailers on mitigating risks for lone workers.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has the policy lead for workplace health and safety in Great Britain. However, the primary responsibility for managing risk to health and safety lies with employers. An employer is the person or organisation that is legally responsible, under health and safety law, for managing and controlling risks created by their work activities. It is for the employer to determine the best way to manage those risks taking account of the circumstances of their business and work activity and to take appropriate action if employees report any health and safety concerns. Local authorities are responsible for the regulation of health and safety in most retail businesses. They can use criteria such as injury rates, trends, numbers and demographics of people at risk and implementation of effective control measures to inform their interventions, and ensure compliance with regulations. HSE does not collect this data centrally. There may be greater risks for lone workers without direct supervision or someone to help them if things go wrong, and an employer must identify the risks to lone workers and put control measures in place to protect them. HSE provide guidance on lone working: Lone working: Protect those working alone - HSE which includes advice on violence in the workplace. This guidance was updated in 2022 and remains fit for purpose. HSE has no plans to commission a review or discuss with retailers the safety of lone workers in stores.

For what purposes their Department has used artificial intelligence in the last year.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is included in the Government’s plan to support economic growth, change public service delivery, and influence living standards for people across the country. In the last year the Department for Work and Pensions have utilised AI to support them in delivering better outcomes for customers. This includes the use of AI to increase colleague productivity, improve back-office operations and processes, and to tackle fraud and error.

What the estimated cost of (a) fraud and (b) error in Universal Credit claims was in each of the last five years.

Estimates of the overpayment cost of fraud and error in the benefit system for the past five financial years can be found at: Fraud and error in the benefit system - GOV.UK

What steps her Department is taking to ensure immigration status is recorded on digital systems when Universal Credit claims are processed.

Universal Credit records the immigration status of a claimant.

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of economic inactivity rates amongst (a) foreign and (b) UK nationals.

The latest inactivity rates for UK and non-UK nationals are published and available at:A12: Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity by nationality and country of birth - Office for National Statistics

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of regional differences in economic inactivity rates by (a) gender, (b) age, (c) ethnicity and (d) religion.

(a)(b)(c): The information requested is published and available at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp Guidance for users can be found at:https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp (d): The most recent data is published and available at: Economic activity status by religion - Office for National Statistics

What steps she is taking to (a) make work pay and (b) stop long term dependency on Universal Credit.

Through our Make Work Pay reforms – and the increases we made in April to the National Living and Minimum Wages – we are working to put more money into the pockets of working people and ensure that work remains a reliable route to financial security. Our Universal Credit Bill also tackles the perverse incentives in the UC system that drive people into dependency by rebalancing the core payment and health top up to better encourage those who can work to enter or return to employment.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the (a) structure or (b) allocation of the welfare budget.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024. The financial sustainability of the benefit system is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process. At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Work Capability Assessment.

As we outlined in our Pathways to Work Green Paper, we are scrapping the controversial Work Capability Assessment (WCA) to end the dysfunctional process which drives people into dependency, delivering on the Government’s commitment to reform or replace it, and removing the ‘can or can’t work flaw’ at the heart of our social security system. Going through the WCA is complex, time consuming and stressful for customers, especially if they also have to go through the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) process. Therefore, it is right that we move to one assessment and do not put millions of people through two, similar and lengthy functional assessments.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure compliance with benefit eligibility rules by foreign nationals.

The Department applies strict compliance and benefit eligibility checks to all claimants regardless of their nationality. In addition to verifying a claimant’s identity, DWP checks that claimants are habitually resident here before they can receive public funds benefits including Universal Credit. DWP also applies strict past presence requirements to ensure that claimants of disability and carer benefits have a substantial and recent connection to this country before they can claim. In addition, DWP always checks a person’s immigration status before paying them benefits if they are a foreign national. We verify this information with the Home Office, including through automatic system-to-system checks. This Government takes all cases of fraud seriously and has introduced the biggest package of measures in recent history to reduce welfare fraud, error and debt, which includes new legislation, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill. This contains new powers to modernise our defences and is currently progressing through Parliament.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Universal Credit expenditure on the sustainability of the overall welfare budget.

This Government is committed to a social security system which raises employment and living standards by supporting and incentivising people into work and to work more, reduces poverty by supporting people at times of higher cost and dependency, and promotes fairness and controls overall spending to ensure the long-term sustainability of the system for future generations. The Government’s welfare cap rule also helps ensure the long-term sustainability of the welfare system. A new welfare cap covering the current parliament was introduced at Autumn Budget 2024. The financial sustainability of the benefit system is considered in the round as part of the forecasts for annually managed expenditure which are produced twice yearly as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast process. At Spring Statement 2025 the OBR forecast that expenditure on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from £75.8billion in 2025/26 to £88.9billion in 2029/30 – with Universal Credit expenditure representing a similar share of GDP in 2029/30 as in 2025/26. The number of households on Universal Credit is forecast to increase from 6.3million in 2025/26 to 6.8million over that time period. The OBR will provide a further update as part of the Autumn Budget.