Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will introduce small business loans for social security claiments who have a viable business plan for self employment.

The Department has no plans to offer business loans to social security claimants who have a viable business plan for self employment. This type of facility would fall within the remit of the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy, who already provide Start-Up loans for new businesses. DWP provides support to benefit claimants through the New Enterprise Allowance, which has supported over 113,000 people to start their own business between April 2011 and December 2017.