Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has plans to change the qualifying criteria for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The new Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will help those adversely affected by COVID-19. It means the UK will have one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world. HMRC designed the SEISS using information they already held, in order to deliver it quickly and minimise the risk of fraud. Expanding the scope would have required HMRC to collect and verify new information. This would have taken longer to deliver and put at risk the other schemes which the Government is committed to delivering as quickly as possible. Some 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment could benefit from this scheme. The scheme is targeted at those most in need, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.

Those not eligible for the 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, the Bounce Back Loans Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments. More information about the full range of business support measures is available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.