Department for Work and Pensions: Disciplinary Proceedings
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there have been any (a) disciplinary actions and (b) dismissals of (i) DWP and (ii) executive agency officials for unauthorised access to personal data since July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western
DWP takes its responsibility to safeguard personal data extremely seriously. All staff have an obligation to report suspected breaches; security responsibilities are covered in mandatory security training, undertaken annually.
As of 28 February 2026, we have 94,876 employees in the Department, of which, there are 227 individuals who have a disciplinary case currently open or closed within the last 12 months relating to ‘Unauthorised Access’, of which 7 individuals were dismissed. These figures cover both paid and unpaid Department for Work and Pensions staff only.
Information on the other parts of the question would only be available at disproportionate cost as data is not held on central DWP systems.
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