Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what support is available for self-employed people who have taken out business loans and are continuing to experience financial hardship as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

The Government recognises the impact that the changing path of the virus has had on the self-employed and has taken action to increase the level of assistance available.

The Government has confirmed that it will provide further taxable grants through the SEISS Grant Extension. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced today that the third grant will cover 80% of average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits for 1 November 2020 to 31 January 2020, and capped at £7,500 in total. This provides equivalent support to the self-employed as is being provided to employees through the Government's contribution in the CJRS. The fourth grant will cover a three-month period from 1 February 2021 until 30 April 2021. The Government will review the level of the fourth grant and set this in due course.

Furthermore, the Chancellor previously announced approved additional funding to support cash grants of up to £2,100 per month for businesses who may be adversely affected by the restrictions in high-alert level areas. These grants will be available retrospectively for areas who have already been subject to restrictions, and come on top of higher levels of additional business support for Local Authorities moving into Tier 3 which, if scaled up across the country, would be worth more than £1 billion. These grants could benefit about 150,000 businesses in England, including hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and many more businesses which are not legally required to close but have been adversely affected by local restrictions nonetheless.

For those requiring further assistance, a comprehensive package of financial support is available. The Government has temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor for the duration of the pandemic meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, the self-employed also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, and mortgage holidays.