Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to extend eligibility for the Kickstart Scheme to include sole traders.

The Department for Work and Pensions’ Kickstart Scheme is open to employers of all sizes.

Sole traders can apply to Kickstart through an organisation offering the ‘Gateway Plus’ model, which enables young people to be placed on the Gateway’s PAYE system for the duration of their placement; there are a number of organisations that will offer this model.