Launch of £3million initiative for disabled entrepreneurs
9 October 2006
Entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox and John Hutton, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions are today backing the launch of Ready to Start, a £3m initiative from Leonard Cheshire in partnership with Barclays that will assist 600 disabled people to start their own businesses over a three year period.
The first project is being launched today in Wandsworth, South West London, and will be established in 27 towns and cities across the UK by the end of 2007. Ready to Start has been funded by a £3m investment by Barclays.
Each client who successfully applies to the Ready to Start project will be linked with a 'Barclays Buddy' and given a tailored support programme enabling them to produce an effective business plan, test ideas, and get their businesses off the ground.
Successful entrepreneur Martha - co-founder of lastminute.com and more recently, Soho's thriving private karaoke bar, Lucky Voice - is enthusiastic about the project. She says: "I have always been passionate about providing people from all backgrounds with the opportunity to start a business, in the same way as I had with lastminute.com. After a near fatal car crash almost three years ago, which has left me temporarily disabled, I feel even more strongly that everyone should be encouraged to follow their ideas and dreams. Therefore I wholeheartedly support this fabulous initiative, Ready to Start."
John Hutton said: "A key element of the Government's 'Improving Life Chances' strategy is about ensuring equality of opportunity in employment for disabled people. Everyone should have the right to decide what they want to do as a career, including setting up and owning their own business. 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.
This is an innovative project, which I hope will influence how we all perceive disability in Great Britain - and will make a difference as we move towards realising our shared vision of an equal society."
Linda Holland National Project Manager for Ready to Start said: "We're delighted to be working with Barclays on this crucial project. Together we are aiming to proactively remove the barriers that disabled people often face when entering employment. Approximately half of disabled people of working age are not in employment in the UK. 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.
"Ready to Start's tailored training packages will cover essential modules such as keeping accounts, marketing and developing a business plan and the 'Barclays Buddies' will play a vital role in supporting clients to gain the extra confidence they need to make their businesses a success."
Kirstie Robbie, Barclays Head of UK Community Relations, said: "Our partnership with Leonard Cheshire will help us to make a positive, significant and lasting difference to the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people in our community. Rather than simply providing a large cheque, we are also able to utilise the skills and experience of our staff and make a real impact to the lives of hundreds of potential entrepreneurs.
"The initiative with Leonard Cheshire complements similar programmes that Barclays will be rolling out across the country with Help the Aged and NCH, aimed at promoting financial literacy and debt advice. A total of over £5m in funding is being provided and thousands of Barclays volunteers will play an active part in ensuring their success."
Linda Boddington from Portsmouth has a mobility impairment that meant she had to give up work. She's been running her own soft furnishings business from home for the last nine years and so understands the challenges and support needed when setting up a new business.
"On a good day I will put six hours in, but sometimes I can only manage as little as two. However, despite the challenges, I have built up something that is beautiful. I now have a business bank account, employ an accountant to oversee my finances and have a Business Manager at the bank. It feels like a proper venture and it's lovely to be taken seriously."
Today's launch is taking place at Wandsworth Town Hall and is being hosted by Jane Asher, who in 1990 set up Jane Asher Party Cakes, the successful cake and sugarcraft business. Also attending is Chris Moon, a well known ex Army officer who lost his right leg and arm when clearing landmines in Mozambique and is now a world class motivational speaker and endurance athlete. Two local MPs, Martin Linton for Battersea and Justine Greening for Putney will also be attending, alongside Mayor of Wandsworth, Cllr Jim Maddan.
Disabled people wishing to find out more information can visit:
www.readytostart.org.uk
For more information on Jane Asher cakes visit:
www.janeasher.com
Editors Notes
Laura Burnell in the Leonard Cheshire media team on 020 7802 8265 or
laura.burnell@LCDisability.org
Jon Logie in the Barclays Press Office on 020 7116 6040 or
jon.logie@barclays.com
Ready to Start from Leonard Cheshire, in partnership with Barclays will seek to enable 600 disabled people to start their own business over three years. Disabled clients will receive equipment, training and support and will be matched with a mentor from Barclays. A community investment of over £3m is being provided to enable Leonard Cheshire to deliver this programme. Over three years, local programmes will be rolled out in 27 towns and cities across England and Wales.
Leonard Cheshire (
www.LCDisability.org) exists to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world. It has been supporting disabled people for almost 60 years and is active in 55 countries. The charity directly supports over 21,000 disabled people in the UK.
Leonard Cheshire is a '2006 Sunday Times 20 Best Big Companies to Work For' organisation.
Barclays PLC is a major global financial services provider engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays is one of the largest financial services companies in the world by market capitalisation. Barclays operates in over 60 countries and employs over 118,000 people, moving, lending, investing and protecting money for over 25 million customers and clients worldwide.
Contact:
laura.burnell@LCDisability.org
