Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support is available for people who are newly self-employed in the 2019-20 tax year, and what consideration they have given to allowing these individuals to access the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The Government recognises that those who started trading more recently will not have submitted a tax return for the 2018-19 tax year, and it considered alternative approaches. HMRC would not be able to distinguish genuine self-employed individuals who started trading in 2019-20 from fake applications by fraudulent operators and organised criminal gangs seeking to exploit the SEISS.

However, those who entered self-employment after April 2019 may still be eligible for other support. For example, the self-employed can benefit from the Government’s relaxation of the earnings rules (known as the Minimum Income Floor) in Universal Credit.