Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will open the Self Employed Income Support scheme to people in self-employment who were not eligible in the initial March 2020 launch of that scheme and now have two years' trading but are still not eligible for the latest round of support.

In designing and delivering the SEISS, the Government prioritised delivering support to as many people as possible as quickly as possible while guarding against the risk of fraud or abuse. The Government recognises that the rules needed to ensure that the SEISS works for the vast majority may mean that some people are not eligible for the grant. However, as the NAO acknowledges, the SEISS has been successful in supporting millions of people and protecting from large scale job losses.

The Government has taken a flexible and responsive approach and will continue to consider the matter carefully and work closely with stakeholders to explore how it can best support different groups.

The SEISS continues to be just one element of the package of support available to self-employed individuals, including Bounce Back loans, tax deferrals, rental support, increased levels of Universal Credit, mortgage holidays, and other business support grants.