Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason he has not amended the Self Employment Income Support Scheme or the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to introduce temporary support for the self-employed who are employed by a series of short-term PAYE contracts and have not been registered for support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme by previous employers.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is available to individuals who are self-employed and who report their trading income through Income Tax Self-Assessment.

To be eligible for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), furloughed employees must have been on their employers’ PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 and HMRC must have received an RTI submission notifying payment in respect of that employee on or before the 19 March 2020. It is not possible to amend this deadline owing to the practical implications of monitoring such an extension, and the risk of fraud that has existed since the scheme became public.

Those who do not qualify for SEISS or CJRS may have to access a range of other support, including income tax deferrals, access to a range of grants and loans, and three-month mortgage holidays. The Government has also relaxed the earnings rules for self-employed claimants under Universal Credit.