Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of self-employed workers who have been excluded from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

HMRC are currently using Self-Assessment data to identify those eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), and aim to contact those eligible by mid-May 2020. An updated estimate of the numbers excluded will not be held until this work has concluded.

Eligibility for SEISS is based on average trading profits for sole traders and income from partnerships. More information on the eligibility criteria can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.

Those ineligible for SEISS may still benefit from other support. Individuals may have access to a range of grants and loans depending on their circumstances, and the SEISS supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.businesssupport.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-support/.