Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of whether (a) the new KickStart Scheme gateway-plus companies are receiving a disproportionate allocation of the grant and (b) some sole traders have received no extra funding.

Sole traders are able to apply to offer jobs to young people through the Kickstart Scheme through a Gateway Plus. There are 4 organisations approved as a Gateway Plus – -

• Adecco Working Ventures in Partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses
• REED in partnership with the British Chambers of Commerce
• Manpower Group
• The Wirral Chamber of Commerce

The Gateway Plus is the employer of the young person participating in Kickstart and will ensure that the YP receives the additional support to improve their employability which is an essential part of the scheme. The young person will be placed with a host organisation linked to the Gateway plus for their six-month job – this is at no cost to the host organisation. Host organisations can include sole traders.

All Kickstart Jobs are subject to robust checking procedures. The checks we put in place when approving a Gateway Plus organisation ensure that any employer that the Gateway approves is subject to a level of checking and due diligence that DWP are satisfied with. These checks are part of the requirement of the Gateway Plus agreement.