Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 12 March (HL Deb, col 1980), what assessment they have made of the impact of the eligibility criteria for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme on the creative industries; and what plans they have to introduce targeted support to ineligible freelance workers.

This question was answered on 23rd March 2021
The Government recognises that taxpayers have faced immense challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in the creative industries.

Freelancers who are ineligible for the SEISS are likely to be those who receive less than half of their income from self-employment. The design of the SEISS, including the eligibility criteria which require that an individual’s trading profits must be at least equal to their non-trading income, means it is targeted at those who are most reliant on their self-employment income.

Freelancers who are ineligible for the SEISS may be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). The CJRS is available to individuals regardless of their employment contract or employment rights, as long as they meet the relevant eligibility criteria.

The Government recognises the value of the cultural sectors and has announced £300 million in additional funding to build on the existing £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. To date, the Culture Recovery Fund has allocated more than £800 million of grants and loans to over 3,000 cultural organisations in England. Organisations supported include independent cinemas, theatres, museums, orchestras and music venues.