§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his estimate for the business basics scheme for 1994–95.
§ Miss WiddecombeFunds for the business start-up scheme have been transferred to the single regeneration budget in 1994–95. Provision for the single regeneration budget includes £70.122 million for business start-up support in that year.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money was spent on business initiative 1993–94.
§ Miss WiddecombeExpenditure in 1993–94 on the business start-up scheme was £82 million.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out the extent of(a) financial support and (b) training time offered by the business basics programme.
§ Miss WiddecombeAlthough now within the single regeneration budget, the business start-up scheme is expected to continue in 1994–95 to offer financial support within the previous range of £20 to £90 per week, plus a training element, both determined locally by training and enterprise councils. TECs may, however, provide start-up support in whatever form they consider appropriate to their local circumstances.
§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) women and (b) men took up the business initiative scheme in each month from April 1993 to April 1994, and give the extent of (i) financial support and (ii) training time.
§ Miss WiddecombeSupport is given under the business start-up scheme to help unemployed people set up their own businesses. The scheme is delivered by training and enterprise councils, which may provide these services under different titles. The numbers of people taking up the support between April 1993 and April 1994 are set out in the table. Financial support in 1993–94 ranged from allowances of £20 to £90 per week, for between 26 and 66 weeks. Training time was at the discretion of the local TECs.
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Business Start-Up Scheme 1993–94—England. 4-Weekly Entrant Statistics Period Ending Entrants 25 April 1993 2,771 23 May 1993 2,699 20 June 1993 2,553 18 July 1993 2,470 15 August 1993 2,357 12 September 1993 2,544 10 October 1993 2,680 07 November 1993 2,730 05 December 1993 2,587 02 January 1994 1,819 30 January 1994 2,560 27 February 1994 2,732 27 March 1994 4,005 1993–94 34,507 Individual totals for women and men for the various periods are not available. However, available data suggest that the overall proportion for the year—women: men—was approximately 31 per cent: 69 per cent.