Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent representations he has received in favour of allowing work programme participants to claim the new enterprise allowance; and if he will make a statement.

The Employment Related Services Association provided written evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee in its Inquiry in May 2013 that Work Programme Participants should have access to the New Enterprise Allowance.

Work Programme Providers already have the flexibility to provide effective, tailored support to help claimants in to work. As part of this flexibility, they already can - and do - provide self-employment support for participants.

To allow Work Programme participants to also take part in the New Enterprise Allowance scheme would result in paying two providers for one job outcome. Clearly we have a duty to tax payers to ensure that public money is used wisely and it would not be right for us to pay to support people to participate in these two programmes at the same time.