Self-employment support is available to new deal participants through new deal for young people, new deal 25-plus, new deal for lone parents and new deal for partners. Self-employment support offers an initial awareness session for potential entrepreneurs followed by a period of supported business planning with a business expert and a period of ‘test trading’. During test trading, participants start their business while continuing to receive their benefit, an allowance or working tax credits, depending on their circumstances, to help them over any initial transitional hurdles. This period can last up to a maximum of 26 weeks.
Information on the planned budget for each year of the Spending Review period is not yet available. The forecast figures for 2008-09 will be included in the departmental report 2008 which will be published in May 2008.
£ million Financial year Total new deal spend Of which, on the self-employment option 1997-98 43 0 1998-99 314 0 1999-2000 536 1 2000-01 596 2 2001-02 672 1 2002-03 736 2 2003-04 655 4 2004-05 640 5 2005-06 539 5 2006-07 531 5 2007-08 557 7 Notes: 1. Figures up to and including 2006-07 are confirmed spend. 2. Figures for 2007-08 are planned expenditure. 3. Figures include all new deal programme costs; start-up costs; staff costs, and allowances paid to participants apart from the 50-plus element of the working tax credit, which is the responsibility of HMRC. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest million and may not sum to spend figures on each individual new deal published in the departmental report due to rounding. 5. Figures include central estimates of administration costs. Sources: DWP departmental reports 2005-06 Jobcentre Plus accounts 2006-07 DWP departmental report 2007-08 and DWP finance division.