Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether any internship schemes managed by (a) his Department and (b) each of its Arm’s Length Bodies are restricted to applicants on the basis of (i) ethnicity, (ii) social class and (iii) both.

The DWP takes part in the Summer Internship Programme (SIP) which is a scheme run by the Cabinet Office. The SIP gives people from lower socio-economic backgrounds the opportunity to see what a career in the Civil Service is like with the opportunity to gain a fast pass onto the fast stream programme.

This year DWP has supported over 30 Summer Interns through the Internship Programme.

DWP’s Arm’s Length Bodies do not run internship schemes.