Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 15 September (HL3068), given that of the organisations mentioned only British Bank provides start-up funding, and given that they reject large numbers of unemployed applicants, what conversations they have had with microfinance organisations that provide mentoring and loans between £500 and £5,000 to unemployed people to help start their own businesses.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As referenced in the response to HL3068 on 15 September 2026, Jobcentre Plus work coaches can provide self-employment information and support to customers and signpost them to specialist national or local organisations that provide advice, including in relation to finance, to support people to start a business.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not offer financial advice about business loans or advise customers about specific loan providers. Therefore, the department has not engaged with specific microfinance organisations that provide loans to unemployed people to help them start their own business.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Sherlock on 1 September (HL Deb col 7), what plans they have to work with not-for-profit microfinance organisations such as Purple Shoots to support unemployed people to start their own businesses.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises that self-employment can be a suitable and sustainable route into work for some people, including those who are unemployed.
Through Jobcentre Plus, work coaches can provide self-employment information and support to customers and signpost them to specialist national or local organisations that provide advice to support people to start a business. This includes the Start Up Loans scheme run by the British Business Bank, the Business Support Helpline, Local Growth Hubs in England, Business Wales and Find Business Support and Business Gateway in Scotland, which offer support, advice and guidance to new and existing businesses.
Asked by: Lord Kamall (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the Keep Britain Working Review will help to incentivise businesses of all sizes to support the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Through the next phase of Keep Britain Working we will work with businesses of all sizes to design solutions which support the health and wellbeing of employees across the UK. Through employer-led sprints, we are developing a Healthy Working Lifecycle Standard, tailored workplace health support, and stronger evidence on the business benefits of investing in employee wellbeing.
Our Vanguard group includes over 120 employers of varying sizes to ensure the approaches developed reflect the needs and realities of both large employers and SMEs. We are also working closely with regional authorities and leadership to connect the programme to smaller employers across the country.
During the Keep Britain Working review, we heard that employers are already bearing the cost of sickness absence and employees leaving the workforce and are therefore highly incentivised to support the health and wellbeing of their employees. Through the next phase of Keep Britain Working we will grow the evidence for what works and where additional incentives could have the greatest impact, ensuring that support is targeted in ways that encourage employers to take-up effective workplace health measures.