Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the context of financial support for businesses during the Covid-19 pandemic, what evidence her Department used to classify small limited company directors as a fraud risk.

Decisions on eligibility for COVID-19 financial support schemes were taken by the previous government. The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) supported self-employed individuals whose incomes were adversely affected by COVID-19. The scheme was based on HMRC's Income Tax Self-Assessment system, through which people submit their tax returns, to target support as much as possible on those who needed it most, but also to minimise the risk of error and fraud.