Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Monday 10th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the decision maker will have access to all the medical records of any individual involved in that sort of process.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

5. What recent progress he has made on the introduction of the enterprise allowance.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Chris Grayling)]

I am pleased to say that last week we announced that the new enterprise allowance would expand to become a nationwide scheme from next autumn. It will first be launched in Merseyside in about three weeks’ time, and it will be rolled out across those parts of the country that have a particular unemployment challenge from spring onwards.

[Andrew Bridgen]

I welcome the fact that the enterprise allowance scheme, which had such a positive effect in the 1980s, is being reinstated. However, I have a concern about the eligibility criteria: one has to have been unemployed for six months or more to be eligible. The National Audit Office noted in the 1980s that the longer someone spent on unemployment benefit before going into self-employment, the less successful that tended to be. Given that, will the Minister consider reducing that time and allowing people who have been unemployed for less than six months to go on to the scheme?

[Chris Grayling]

I would very much like to improve the support that we provide, but obviously we have to do that in the context of the finances that we have inherited from the Opposition. The big difference that the new scheme will make is that it will also take advantage of the expertise of existing business people. I hope that my hon. Friend, who has a strong track record in business, will look to become a mentor for one of the new business people. That is an important difference from the previous scheme; the new scheme offers both financial and practical support, and not just financial support.