Consultation on Job Grant

Section 2: About the Consultation

What are we consulting about?

9. This consultation asks questions about the key eligibility criteria for the Job Grant. The key eligibility criteria include age; residency; qualifying benefits; duration of being out of paid work; application window; and receipt of a job offer with requirements such as likely average hours of work and duration of employment. We are also asking for views about the format of the payment and impacts on different groups and business.

Who might be affected by this policy?

10. Young people aged 16 - 24 who have been out of paid work for 6 months or more, are on a qualifying benefit and have found employment that averages 16 hours per week or more, over a four week period will be eligible for Job Grant. Care leavers will be eligible for an extra year, until their 26^th birthday, and will not have to meet the condition of having been out of work for 6 months.

11. On an annual basis this is could help around 4,000 young people.

Who do we want to hear from?

12. We are keen to gather the views of young people and also organisations who work with or support young people aged 16-24, especially those organisations that work alongside young people to help them move into employment, and those that work with ethnic minorities, lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) young people.

13. We want this consultation to be as accessible as possible for people who might be affected by the changes. To respond to the consultation, people will be able to choose between online written feedback in the form of a questionnaire. We also would like to run events in conjunction with stakeholders to promote and encourage young people to take part in the consultation. This will provide people with the opportunity to speak directly us about their experiences and views on topics covered in the wider consultation.

14. If you would like to tell us about your experiences and views, please contact:
Email: JGEligibilityConsultation@gov.scot
Freephone: 0800 029 4974 (includes language line translation)
Text: Prefix 18001
SMS: 07467 447375
British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via http://contactscotland-bsl.org.

15. Please let us know about any additional support needs that you have in order to allow you to take part.

What comments are requested and by when?

16. Please respond to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation hub, Citizen Space (http://consult.gov.scot). All responses should be submitted to us by 9 April 2019.

17. If you are unable to respond using our consultation hub please complete the respondent information Form (Annex E) and send to: