§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who will be able to apply for the job grant; how much it is worth; for how long the grant will be available; and if he will make a statement. [132949]
§ Mr. BrowneThe Job Grant is intended to help people manage until they receive their wages when moving from benefits into work and was introduced in April 2001. It is a flat rate one-off payment of 100 payable to people aged 25 and over who have been in receipt of Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance continuously for the last 52 weeks and who are moving into work of at least 16 hours a week.
217WFrom 25 October 2004, the Job Grant will be available to people receiving Job Seekers Allowance aged 25 and over, lone parents, and people of any age receiving Income Support, Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance. The amount payable to lone parents and couples with children will be increased to 250. In addition, the qualifying period of benefit receipt will be reduced from the current 52 weeks to 26 weeks. Access has also been extended to partners of eligible benefit recipients who take up work of 24 hours a week or more, which takes the household off benefit. Full details of Job Grant eligibility conditions have been placed in the Library.
There are no plans to discontinue the Job Grant and we regularly review our package of work incentives, of which Job Grant is an integral part, to ensure that it works effectively to help people moving from benefits into employment.