Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what financial support is available during the period of November 2020 covid-19 lockdown restrictions for self-employed people who transferred from a Limited Company during the 2019-20 financial year and are ineligible for Self-Employment Income Support scheme and the Coronavirus Job Retention scheme.

The practical issues that prevented the Government from being able to include the newly self-employed in 2019-20 in the original Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), namely that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will not have access to their self-assessment returns to be able to verify their eligibility, still remain. Unlike for employees, self-employed income is not reported monthly, but at the end of each tax year on the individual’s Income Tax Self-Assessment return. This means that the most reliable and up-to-date record of self-employed income is from 2018-19 tax returns.

The SEISS Grant Extension continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of support for individuals and businesses. This package includes Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support and other business support grants. The Government has also temporarily increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for 2020-21 by £20 per week and relaxed the Minimum Income Floor meaning that where self-employed claimants' earnings have significantly fallen, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings.