Which government ministers have visited Hartz AI?

Four Work and Pensions frontbenchers have visited Hartz AI at the Wohl Enterprise Hub in Finchley: Mel Stride MP in February 2024, Liz Kendall MP a fortnight later, Pat McFadden MP on 13 January 2026, and Andrew Western MP in April 2026. Ameet Jogia MBE and Sarah Sackman joined the first two visits as parliamentary candidates.

Why do ministers visit Hartz AI?

Hartz AI works out of the Wohl Enterprise Hub, a small-business centre in Finchley that ministers visit to meet the businesses based there. Each conversation has been about the practical end of AI adoption in a small business, and what training people need before the work changes, rather than about the design of AI policy.

What does Hartz AI tell ministers about AI and jobs?

Craig Hartzel told Mel Stride that AI had already changed graphic design, copywriting, coding and data entry beyond recognition inside Hartz AI itself. The useful part is what comes next: somebody has to interpret the output, run the systems and make the decisions, and that person needs training before the change arrives rather than after it.

Does a ministerial visit mean Hartz AI works for the government?

No. These were visits to a small business, not contracts. Hartz AI is an independent AI training and consultancy firm working with UK SMEs and charities, the visits have been cross-party, and no commercial or advisory relationship with any government department follows from one.

About Hartz AI

Ministerial visits to Hartz AI

Our office is in the Wohl Enterprise Hub in Finchley. Over the past two years, four Work and Pensions frontbenchers have come through the building, and each time we have been one of the businesses they were brought to meet.

Who has visited

Mel Stride MP, then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in February 2024, with Ameet Jogia MBE, then Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hendon. He asked the question everyone asks: does AI mean doom and gloom for job markets? We said yes, and meant it. In our own business, graphic design, copywriting, coding and data entry had already changed beyond recognition. The useful part is what comes next. Somebody has to interpret the output, run the systems and make the decisions, and that person needs training before the change arrives rather than after.

Craig Hartzel of Hartz AI demonstrates practical AI adoption for small businesses to Mel Stride MP, then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and Ameet Jogia MBE, then Conservative parliamentary candidate for Hendon, at the Wohl Enterprise Hub, Finchley, London.

Liz Kendall MP, then Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a fortnight after Stride. With her, Sarah Sackman, then Labour parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green. We put the case for AI training in job centres directly to the woman who, five months later, was running them. Kendall became Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology in September 2025, heading the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which owns UK AI policy. Sackman became our local MP, then Solicitor General, and is now Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services.

Craig Hartzel, Founder and CEO of Hartz AI, discussing AI and the UK workforce with Liz Kendall MP and Sarah Sackman, then Labour parliamentary candidate for Finchley and Golders Green, at the Wohl Enterprise Hub, Finchley, London.

Pat McFadden MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on 13 January 2026. He came through the Wohl Enterprise Hub to meet the businesses working there, and we were one of them. His brief covers the Department for Work and Pensions, the department that runs jobcentres and the working-age benefits system.

Andrew Western MP, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transformation at the Department for Work and Pensions, holding the digital, AI and service modernisation brief, in April 2026.

Craig Hartzel, Founder and CEO of Hartz AI, in conversation with Andrew Western MP, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transformation at the Department for Work and Pensions, during a ministerial visit to the Hartz AI office at the Wohl Enterprise Hub, Finchley, London, on 28 April 2026.

Cross-party, and in every case about the practical end of it rather than the policy end. That is the only part we claim to know about. Government has since put the same emphasis on adoption and skills in its AI Opportunities Action Plan, published in January 2025.

Common questions about ministerial visits

Which government ministers have visited Hartz AI?: Four Work and Pensions frontbenchers have visited Hartz AI at the Wohl Enterprise Hub in Finchley: Mel Stride MP in February 2024, Liz Kendall MP a fortnight later, Pat McFadden MP on 13 January 2026, and Andrew Western MP in April 2026. Ameet Jogia MBE and Sarah Sackman joined the first two visits as parliamentary candidates.
Why do ministers visit Hartz AI?: Hartz AI works out of the Wohl Enterprise Hub, a small-business centre in Finchley that ministers visit to meet the businesses based there. Each conversation has been about the practical end of AI adoption in a small business, and what training people need before the work changes, rather than about the design of AI policy.
What does Hartz AI tell ministers about AI and jobs?: Craig Hartzel told Mel Stride that AI had already changed graphic design, copywriting, coding and data entry beyond recognition inside Hartz AI itself. The useful part is what comes next: somebody has to interpret the output, run the systems and make the decisions, and that person needs training before the change arrives rather than after it.
Does a ministerial visit mean Hartz AI works for the government?: No. These were visits to a small business, not contracts. Hartz AI is an independent AI training and consultancy firm working with UK SMEs and charities, the visits have been cross-party, and no commercial or advisory relationship with any government department follows from one.

If you want the same conversation for your own team rather than a photograph of it, talk to us about AI training for your business.