HAMPSHIRE is falling behind other areas in Government attempts to turn benefit claimants into entrepreneurs by helping them set up their own business.

Only around 20 people in Southampton have taken out ‘Dragon’s Den-style’ loans to enable them to come off the dole and put a business plan into action.

The total is far lower than many other cities, including Bristol (100), Cardiff (100), Edinburgh (120), Bradford (120), Nottingham (120) and Leeds (130).

And take-up has also been low across the rest of Hampshire, with just 20 loans in Winchester and only around ten in all other local authority areas.

The best ideas receive loans of around £2,000 – which can be repaid over five years at a low rate of interest – as well as some guidance and mentoring support.

David Cameron has hailed the ‘New Enterprise Allowance’ scheme as crucial if Britain is to “compete on the global stage”, by tapping into people’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Last year Cameron said: “I am determined to get behind people who have ideas that will work and a can-do attitude that will turn those ideas into successful enterprises.

“It doesn't matter what your background is, or whether you are out of work.

“If you are prepared to work hard and aspire to achieve more, this Government – through schemes like the enterprise allowance – will back you.”

It was not clear why the New Enterprise Allowance scheme has struggled to take off in Hampshire, since it was extended to the county in August 2011.

The initiative was criticised after getting off to a slow start, with some pouring scorn on the target to create 40,000 new businesses by 2015.

But the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said 15,210 loans had been taken out across England by last November – a doubling of the total within six months.

More mentors have been signed up to provide crucial step-by-step guidance to would-be entrepreneurs and remove delays in getting businesses started.

And people can now get business advice from the moment they become unemployed, rather than having to wait at least six months, the rule when the scheme started.

Its chairman is James Caan, a former Dragon in the BBC show, who said: “It is only with this renewed focus on youth entrepreneurship that we will create more jobs and wealth and see the economy flourish again.”

Some entrepreneurs have used the loans to pursue existing hobbies, such as landscape gardening, painting and decorating, hairdressing and building services.

Others across England have branched out into driving instruction, personal fitness training, cafes and even a dog–grooming business and a chocolate company.

More information about the scheme can be found on dwp.gov.uk/adviser/ updates/new-enterprise-allowance.