§ Ms. Ruddockasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the criteria for the award of (a) enterprise allowance and (b) a community programme place.
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§ Mr. CopeThe purpose of the enterprise allowance scheme is to help those unemployed people who would like to set up business on their own but are deterred from doing so because they would lose their entitlement to unemployment or supplementary benefit. To help ensure that the purpose of the scheme is met, applicants must he aged at least 18 and under 65 and have been unemployed and actively seeking work for at least eight weeks. Additionally, applicants must be directly or indirectly in receipt of unemployment benefit or supplementary benefit, have £1,000 available to invest in their proposed business, plan to work full time and be free from any restrictions on their employment in Great Britain.
The proposed business must be new, suitable for public support, be based in England, Scotland or Wales, and remain in the overall control of the applicant.
The community programme provides opportunities for long-term unemployed people to gain work experience on projects of community benefit. It is open to those aged 18 to 24 who have been unemployed for six out of the last nine months and those aged 25 to 62 who have been unemployed for 12 out of the last 15 months.
In addition, all applicants must have been continuously unemployed for the two months before they apply, and be directly or indirectly in receipt of an appropriate state benefit.