Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason (a) income from furnished holiday lets is not included in calculations for support under the Self Employed Income Support Scheme and (b) an individual must receive more than half of their income from self-employment in order to be eligible for support from that scheme.

The self-employed are very diverse and have a wide mix of turnover and profits, with monthly and annual variations even in normal times, and in some cases with substantial alternative forms of income too. The design of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to their non-trading income, means it is targeted at those who need it the most, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income

Income from furnished holiday lets is classified as non-trading income and therefore it is not considered as part of a self-employed individual’s trading profits.

Beyond this, the SEISS continues to be just one element of a comprehensive package of support for the self-employed. The Universal Credit standard allowance has been temporarily increased for 2020-21 and the Minimum Income Floor relaxed for the duration of the crisis, so that where self-employed claimants' earnings have fallen significantly, their Universal Credit award will have increased to reflect their lower earnings. In addition to this, they may also have access to other elements of the package, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, mortgage holidays, self-isolation support payments and other business support grants.