New Businesses: Disability

(asked on 7th February 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support entrepreneurs who have disabilities.


Answered by
Sarah Newton Portrait
Sarah Newton
This question was answered on 20th February 2018

An individual whose health condition or disability affects the way they work and who is employed - including self-employed entrepreneurs - or about to enter employment, can apply to Access to Work for a discretionary support grant of up to £42,100 per year. The scheme can provide a range of practical advice and financial support, including support workers, travel to work, supportive technologies and access to a specialist Mental Health Support Service.

The Government also provides a range of business support for entrepreneurs, including those with disabilities, such as:

  • The Business Finance & Support Finder Tool’ on GOV.UK, which helps businesses find government backed support and finance.
  • British Business Bank programmes, supporting over £4 billion of finance to more than 65,000 smaller businesses in the UK
  • The Start-Up loans programme, which has delivered more than 53,000 loans, totalling over £383m
  • The Business Support Helpline, which provides information and guidance over the phone, via email, webchat and social media and handled over 40,000 interactions in 2016.
  • Support for, and investment in, a network of Growth Hubs to simplify the business support landscape.

In addition, people who are claiming certain benefits, including people with disabilities, may be eligible for DWP’s New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme; which may help them to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs. 23,920 (22%) of NEA trading starts were made by people who had a declared disability.

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