Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people with annual trading profits from £50,000 to £60,000 are not eligible to access support under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The SEISS, including the eligibility requirement that an individual’s trading profits must be no more than £50,000 and at least equal to their non-trading income, is designed to target those who most need it, and who are most reliant on their self-employment income.

Those with average profits above £50,000 may still benefit from other support, and individuals may have access to a range of grants and loans depending on their circumstances. The SEISS supplements the significant support already announced for UK businesses, including the Bounce Back Loan Scheme for small businesses, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the deferral of tax payments.

Applications for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) opened on 13 May. By midnight 31 May 2020, HMRC had received 2.5m claims representing a total of £7.2bn claimed.

SEISS is a new scheme and HMRC are currently working through the analysis they will be able to provide based on the data available. HMRC will update in due course on the types of data available and timescales for publication.