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Disabled entrepreneurs receive government help

09/10/2006

A new £3 million initiative has been launched to encourage disabled entrepreneurs to make the most of their business talents.

Barclays bank and disabled charity Leonard Cheshire are running the scheme, called Ready to Start, which offers 600 disabled people the chance to set up their own company over a three-year period.

Those taking part in the initiative will receive professional support from Barclays staff, including business planning and test ideas, in an effort to "make a positive, significant and lasting difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in our community".

"Approximately half of disabled people of working age are not in employment in the UK," Linda Holland of Ready to Start explained.

"For a large number of disabled people setting up their own business is often the only viable option in order to achieve both economic independence and a flexible working environment."

The scheme is being launched today in Wandsworth, south London, by work and pensions secretary John Hutton.

"Everyone should have the right to decide what they want to do as a career, including setting up and owning their own business," Mr Hutton commented.

"Leonard Cheshire and Barclays' Ready to Start initiative presents an exciting opportunity for disabled people to realise their ambitions of running their own business with the help of the tremendous experience of these two organisations."

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