Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the cost to the public purse of allowing limited company directors to claim support from the (a) Self-Employment Income Support Scheme and (b) coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for relevant shares of their income.

The practical issues that prevented the Government from being able to include company owner-managers in the original Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, namely the inability of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to verify the source of their dividend income without introducing unacceptable levels of fraud risk, still remain. Dividends are therefore not covered by the SEISS Grant Extension. It is important to secure the SEISS Grant Extension against fraud risk and misuse.

Those who pay themselves a salary through their own company may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The CJRS is available to employers, including personal service companies, and individuals paying themselves a salary through a PAYE scheme are eligible.