Lord Taylor of Warwick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support is available for disabled entrepreneurs.

Baroness Altmann

Anyone, including disabled people, can apply for financial and practical help through the Government’s Start Up Loans scheme.

Access to Work, which helps people with a disability or health condition to stay in work or start work, now features a new specialist self-employment team to support entrepreneurs and the self-employed.

Unemployed potential entrepreneurs, including those with disabilities or health conditions, can talk to their Jobcentre Plus Work Coach, or where appropriate, Disability Employment Adviser (DEA), regarding national programmes like Work Choice, Work Programme and the new Specialist Employability Support. These programmes offer tailored services which can include practical support and advice for becoming self-employed.

Work coaches can also refer claimants, including disabled clients, to the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA). Over 73,000 new businesses have started up through the scheme and 20% of NEA business starts have been made by disabled people. Disabled jobseekers who are accepted onto the NEA scheme may also be entitled to receive an Access to Work grant.