Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to provide support to self-employed carers that are not eligible for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been designed to use information HMRC already held, in order to make it deliverable as quickly as possible and to minimise the risk of fraud. Eligibility for the SEISS and the value of the grant for eligible individuals is based on income tax self-assessment returns from 2016-17 to 2018-19.

If an individual is in receipt of Carer’s Allowance and has other trading income, their trading profits must exceed the amount of other income, including taxable benefits such as Carer’s Allowance, otherwise they will not meet the eligibility criteria for the SEISS.

Individuals who are not eligible for a grant through the SEISS may benefit from other Government support such as the relaxation of the Universal Credit minimum income floor.