Government Response

The Government responded to this petition on Wednesday 15th April 2020

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was announced on 26 March 2020 to help those with lost trading profits due to COVID-19. It is one of the most generous self-employed schemes in the world.

The Government recognises that many self-employed individuals have been concerned about support if their income drops temporarily due to COVID-19. Following earlier announcements on business support, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced further additional assistance for the self-employed on 26 March 2020.

The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will allow eligible individuals to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 per month for 3 months. This may be extended if needed. Self-employed individuals, including members of partnerships, are eligible if they have submitted their Income Tax Self Assessment tax return for the tax year 2018-19, continued to trade and have lost trading/partnership trading profits due to COVID-19. To qualify, their self-employed trading profits must be less than £50,000, with more than half of their income from self-employment. Some 95% of people who are mainly self-employed could benefit from this scheme.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will contact individuals if they believe they could be eligible and invite them to apply online using a simple form. HMRC are working on this urgently and expect people to be able to use the scheme no later than the beginning of June. Delivery of the SEISS is an enormous operational task for HMRC because it requires an entirely new system to be built and tested from scratch.

More information about the SEISS, including the eligibility criteria and how to claim, is available at www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.

Anyone requiring support before the beginning of June should have access to other measures appropriate to their individual circumstances. For example, the self-employed benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit. The SEISS also supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/

The Government is offering bold, substantial and unprecedented support for the self-employed. It will do whatever it takes to get our country through the impacts of COVID-19.

HM Treasury