Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason her Department classes the owners of small businesses as self-employed under universal credit while HMRC classes them as employed.

We look at a number of factors to establish whether someone is gainfully self-employed

A claimant is considered to be in gainful self-employment where all of the following apply:

• the claimant is carrying on a trade, profession or vocation as their main employment
• their earnings from that trade, profession or vocation are self-employed earnings
• the trade, profession or vocation is organised, developed, regular and carried out in expectation of profit

If any of these are not satisfied then the claimant is not considered gainfully self-employed.