Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS (a) maternity wards and (b) perinatal services treat fathers as active participants in the birth process.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has committed to putting the voices of families, including fathers, at the heart of the approach to improving quality, safety and accountability in maternity services.
Baroness Amos’ independent national investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services will ensure that the lived experiences of families, including fathers and non-birthing partners, are fully heard and used to inform the development of the national recommendations. A National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will take forward the recommendations of the investigation to develop a new national action plan to drive improvements across maternity and neonatal care.
National bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Midwives have issued guidelines emphasising the importance of involving fathers and partners in maternity and perinatal care. These guidelines set expectations for trusts to adopt family-centred care and to treat fathers as active participants, not just visitors or observers. These resources are available at the following link:
Fathers and partners can now receive evidence-based assessments and support through specialist perinatal mental health services where needed, with some NHS trusts now also working with Home Start UK’s Dad Matters project to support paternal mental health. The project engages with fathers to help them understand their baby, their role as a father, and how transition to fatherhood may affect them and their family.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in his Department were employed in tackling benefit fraud in (a) 2025 and (b) 2020.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since Autumn Budget 24, including the new announcements at Autumn Budget 25, the Government have committed to gross savings of £14.6bn up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity in GB.
The Government is committed to ensuring that public funds are spent appropriately and deliver value for taxpayers. Fraud against the welfare system undermines public services and takes resources away from those who need them most.
Within the Department for Work and Pensions, tackling fraud and error is a shared responsibility across all roles, from Work Coaches in Jobcentres to colleagues in Service Centres. Because this work is embedded throughout the organisation, it is not possible to provide a precise breakdown of staff numbers or costs dedicated solely to preventing and detecting fraud
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered restricting access to non-contributory benefits for non-UK nationals until they have completed a minimum qualifying period of lawful residence and tax contribution.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 20 November my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary launched a consultation on proposals for a fairer pathway to settlement, the point at which foreign nationals generally gain access to public funds. These plans include doubling the standard qualifying period for settlement from 5 to 10 years, with the opportunity to reduce this period based on their contributions to the UK economy and society and longer periods for those who contribute less.
The consultation also covers proposals that benefits might not be available to those who have settled status, reserving them, instead, for those who have earned British citizenship.
You can find more details in here: “Restoring Order and Control: A statement on the government’s asylum and returns policy (accessible)”, and in “Open consultation: Earned settlement”.
In conjunction with these reforms, my Department will consult in due course on a change to taxpayer-funded benefits to prioritise access for those who are making an economic contribution to the UK.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that individuals whose immigration status no longer entitles them to public funds are automatically removed from benefit systems; and how many such removals have taken place in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Universal Credit systems carry out daily automatic checks against Home Office data to identify any changes in immigration status, and subsequently, DWP caseworkers stop claims where the individual no longer has an immigration status that permits recourse to public funds.
However, the department does not hold data on the number of benefit claims disallowed after a review.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the proportion of identified benefit fraud cases in which the claimant was a non-UK national in the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Monetary Value of Fraud and Error Statistics are not disaggregated by nationality and immigration status.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department routinely records the nationality and immigration status of claimants in cases of proven benefit fraud.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Monetary Value of Fraud and Error Statistics are not disaggregated by nationality and immigration status.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how often are driving test examiners audited to ensure they are following ID verification procedures prior to an examination.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test, to prevent illegitimate licences being issued.
At the start of the driving test, all driving examiners (DE) carry out thorough identification and documentation checks to satisfy themselves of the person’s identity, the validity of the driving licence and theory test pass certificate.
To make it harder for fraudsters to impersonate a candidate, DVSA has worked in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to give DEs access to an enlarged photograph of the candidate, as shown on the driving licence, to help the examiner decide if the person presenting for test is the correct candidate. If a candidate fails to satisfy the examiner that they have complied with the requirements, the examiner will, under legislation, refuse to take the test.
DVSA takes very seriously any allegations of fraudulent activity, including candidate impersonation. It has a dedicated Intelligence Threat Hub for the assessment of available information, prioritisation of investigations, and a dedicated counter fraud team to investigate such allegations.
Due to the nature of impersonation, there is not a high level at a single location, as an impersonator would be easily identified as such, if they attempted to take several tests at a single location. DVSA uses other data, such as details of the vehicle used by a suspected impersonator, to track and investigate attempts across the country.
The table below shows the number of intercepted impersonation attempts for driving practical tests from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2025. Interceptions are where DVSA colleagues have challenged the impersonator and stopped the test or a licence has been revoked if evidence of impersonation comes to light later.
Please note, practical test impersonations were included in general impersonation figures until 2021, therefore DVSA has no individual figures for this category between 2018-2020.
Date period | Practical Test Impersonations |
1/10/2024 to 30/09/2025 | 647 |
1/10/2023 to 30/09/2024 | 388 |
1/10/2022 to 30/09/2023 | 442 |
1/10/2021 to 30/09/2022 | 146 |
1/10/2020 to 30/09/2021 | 0 |
As a civil service department, DVSA has certain principles and processes that must be followed, and all employees must meet the standards of conduct and behaviour set out in the Civil Service code and the DVSA’s Staff handbook.
Effective performance is expected of all employees. Addressing poor performance fairly, effectively and promptly is critical to maintaining a professional service, and DVSA, as with other civil service departments, has poor performance policy and guidance in place.
The role of a DE is complex and requires rigorous training. There is a statutory requirement for DEs to undertake continuous professional development to ensure they maintain their skills. All DEs go through an extensive training regime and attend regular periodic training. This ensures they carry out all of the test properly. In addition, there is a robust monitoring system in place and DE performance is regularly assessed.
As civil servants, DEs, are required to undertake fraud awareness training and regular refresher training on this topic.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what checks are required of examiners when verifying photo ID before a driving test begins.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test, to prevent illegitimate licences being issued.
At the start of the driving test, all driving examiners (DE) carry out thorough identification and documentation checks to satisfy themselves of the person’s identity, the validity of the driving licence and theory test pass certificate.
To make it harder for fraudsters to impersonate a candidate, DVSA has worked in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to give DEs access to an enlarged photograph of the candidate, as shown on the driving licence, to help the examiner decide if the person presenting for test is the correct candidate. If a candidate fails to satisfy the examiner that they have complied with the requirements, the examiner will, under legislation, refuse to take the test.
DVSA takes very seriously any allegations of fraudulent activity, including candidate impersonation. It has a dedicated Intelligence Threat Hub for the assessment of available information, prioritisation of investigations, and a dedicated counter fraud team to investigate such allegations.
Due to the nature of impersonation, there is not a high level at a single location, as an impersonator would be easily identified as such, if they attempted to take several tests at a single location. DVSA uses other data, such as details of the vehicle used by a suspected impersonator, to track and investigate attempts across the country.
The table below shows the number of intercepted impersonation attempts for driving practical tests from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2025. Interceptions are where DVSA colleagues have challenged the impersonator and stopped the test or a licence has been revoked if evidence of impersonation comes to light later.
Please note, practical test impersonations were included in general impersonation figures until 2021, therefore DVSA has no individual figures for this category between 2018-2020.
Date period | Practical Test Impersonations |
1/10/2024 to 30/09/2025 | 647 |
1/10/2023 to 30/09/2024 | 388 |
1/10/2022 to 30/09/2023 | 442 |
1/10/2021 to 30/09/2022 | 146 |
1/10/2020 to 30/09/2021 | 0 |
As a civil service department, DVSA has certain principles and processes that must be followed, and all employees must meet the standards of conduct and behaviour set out in the Civil Service code and the DVSA’s Staff handbook.
Effective performance is expected of all employees. Addressing poor performance fairly, effectively and promptly is critical to maintaining a professional service, and DVSA, as with other civil service departments, has poor performance policy and guidance in place.
The role of a DE is complex and requires rigorous training. There is a statutory requirement for DEs to undertake continuous professional development to ensure they maintain their skills. All DEs go through an extensive training regime and attend regular periodic training. This ensures they carry out all of the test properly. In addition, there is a robust monitoring system in place and DE performance is regularly assessed.
As civil servants, DEs, are required to undertake fraud awareness training and regular refresher training on this topic.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-UK nationals are in receipt of (a) Universal Credit, (b) legacy working-age benefits and (c) child-related benefits by nationality.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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-9-october-2025. The number of people on Universal Credit who are non – Common Travel Area nationals, for each month from April 2022 to October 2025, is in Table 1 of the following data tables: Universal Credit immigration status and nationality statistics to October 2025.
The information requested for parts (b) and (c) are not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what disciplinary measures are in place for driving examiners who fail to follow ID verification protocols.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
To ensure Great Britain’s roads remain among the safest in the world, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has robust measures in place to stop people using false identities when taking a driving test, to prevent illegitimate licences being issued.
At the start of the driving test, all driving examiners (DE) carry out thorough identification and documentation checks to satisfy themselves of the person’s identity, the validity of the driving licence and theory test pass certificate.
To make it harder for fraudsters to impersonate a candidate, DVSA has worked in partnership with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency to give DEs access to an enlarged photograph of the candidate, as shown on the driving licence, to help the examiner decide if the person presenting for test is the correct candidate. If a candidate fails to satisfy the examiner that they have complied with the requirements, the examiner will, under legislation, refuse to take the test.
DVSA takes very seriously any allegations of fraudulent activity, including candidate impersonation. It has a dedicated Intelligence Threat Hub for the assessment of available information, prioritisation of investigations, and a dedicated counter fraud team to investigate such allegations.
Due to the nature of impersonation, there is not a high level at a single location, as an impersonator would be easily identified as such, if they attempted to take several tests at a single location. DVSA uses other data, such as details of the vehicle used by a suspected impersonator, to track and investigate attempts across the country.
The table below shows the number of intercepted impersonation attempts for driving practical tests from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2025. Interceptions are where DVSA colleagues have challenged the impersonator and stopped the test or a licence has been revoked if evidence of impersonation comes to light later.
Please note, practical test impersonations were included in general impersonation figures until 2021, therefore DVSA has no individual figures for this category between 2018-2020.
Date period | Practical Test Impersonations |
1/10/2024 to 30/09/2025 | 647 |
1/10/2023 to 30/09/2024 | 388 |
1/10/2022 to 30/09/2023 | 442 |
1/10/2021 to 30/09/2022 | 146 |
1/10/2020 to 30/09/2021 | 0 |
As a civil service department, DVSA has certain principles and processes that must be followed, and all employees must meet the standards of conduct and behaviour set out in the Civil Service code and the DVSA’s Staff handbook.
Effective performance is expected of all employees. Addressing poor performance fairly, effectively and promptly is critical to maintaining a professional service, and DVSA, as with other civil service departments, has poor performance policy and guidance in place.
The role of a DE is complex and requires rigorous training. There is a statutory requirement for DEs to undertake continuous professional development to ensure they maintain their skills. All DEs go through an extensive training regime and attend regular periodic training. This ensures they carry out all of the test properly. In addition, there is a robust monitoring system in place and DE performance is regularly assessed.
As civil servants, DEs, are required to undertake fraud awareness training and regular refresher training on this topic.