Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to use AI and automation to (a) improve the delivery of, (b) reduce administrative burdens of and (c) improve the accuracy of assessments for welfare benefits.

We are adopting AI in DWP to help colleagues deliver better outcomes for customers and to improve productivity and efficiency, so that colleagues can get more decisions right first time and can support the people who need it most.

The Department uses automated decision-making in some areas, as described in our Personal Information Charter. Customers are told when an automated decision may have been made in relation to their case, along with information on the steps they would need to take if they want to exercise their right to ask for a human to review that decision.

DWP has a legal requirement to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place when carrying out automated decision-making. The Department carries out regular checks to ensure our systems are working as intended, and any new features go through rigorous testing.