§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the back to work bonus of £1,000 is payable to unemployed people starting up their own business. [188323]
§ Maria EagleThe Back to Work Bonus is payable to all customers aged under 60 in receipt of Jobseeker's Allowance or Income Support and in part time work. This includes people who are moving off benefit in order to start their own business.
To be eligible to apply for a Back to Work Bonus when moving into work that takes them off benefit, a person must have met the qualifying conditions and have been working part time and declaring their earnings. Half of the declared earnings after the appropriate disregard has been applied are accrued. The minimum that can be paid is £5 and the maximum £1,000. The amount the customer receives is dependant on the amount of earnings that has accrued from their part time work.