Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Esther McVey and Glyn Davies

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

17. What plans he has to support disabled entrepreneurs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

We offer a range of support to help disabled people get and stay in work, including Work Choice, the Work programme and Access to Work. In fact, we have extended Access to Work to make it available to disabled people setting up businesses though the new enterprise allowance.

[Glyn Davies]

Investment in disabled people’s user-led organisations has proved very helpful to disabled people, but does my hon. Friend accept that it is crucial for the coalition Government’s commitment to delivering fairness that we build on this policy?

[Esther McVey]

I share my hon. Friend’s views about disabled people’s user-led organisations, which is why we have put £3 million aside—£2.2 million has been spent so far—to support programmes that are being built by such organisations. I have been impressed with the innovative designs that have resulted from that, including, most recently, an app called Georgie, which was designed by a blind person and is now being manufactured and used across the country.