Vol. 440 No. 6
76 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Social Welfare whether persons approved for the back to work allowance scheme for unemployed people becoming self-employed could be paid in a lump sum in order to provide capital to help them in the start-up of their business.
The back to work allowance is a pilot scheme which I introduced in September last to help the creation of new job opportunities and to encourage unemployed people on the live register and lone parents to return to the active labour force. Even though the scheme has only been in operation for a short period, 1,500 new jobs have already been approved and over 1,000 people are receiving an allowance at an average weekly rate of £80. More than three-quarters of the people receiving the allowance are engaged in self-employment in a wide and diverse range of projects.
The present conditions of the scheme do not permit the payment of the allowance in the form of a lump sum to recipients. However since the scheme is a pilot scheme it will be subject to a detailed review and evaluation after 12 months to assess its effectiveness in meeting its objectives. The issue of payment of the entire allowance, or part of the allowance, in the form of a lump sum will be considered in the context of this evaluation.
At present unemployed people who apply for the allowance and who wish to engage in self-employment projects have their applications assessed by locally based job facilitators. As part of this assessment job facilitators will, where possible, assist the application by directing them towards other agencies or organisations who might be of benefit to them in their project. In this context the job facilitators would be aware of local and national sources of funding which might be available and suitable for the particular type of project being undertaken and the applicant would be directed towards these.
