Support through Self-Employment Income Support Scheme to be doubled from 40 to 80 per cent of average trading profits, Prime Minister announces

HM Treasury also confirms that people will be able to apply from the end of November 2020 rather than the middle of December, with support provided faster

Support through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is to be doubled from 40 to 80 per cent of average trading profits, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced.

In an oral statement to the House of Commons this afternoon on the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) measures, Mr Johnson said - 

'... the government will continue to do everything possible to support jobs and livelihoods in the next four weeks as we have throughout. We have protected almost 10 million jobs with furlough, and we are now extending this scheme throughout November.

We have already paid out £13.7 billion to help the self-employed, and I can announce today that for November we will double our support from 40 to 80 per cent of trading profits.'

In addition, HM Treasury has provided further detail, advising that - 

• as SEISS grants are calculated over three months, the uplift for November 2020 to 80 per cent, along with the 40 per cent level of trading profits for December 2020 and January 2021, increases the total level of the third grant to 55 per cent of trading profits, with the maximum grant increasing to £5,160; and 
• grants will be paid faster than previously planned – with the opening of the claims window being brought forward from 14 December to 30 November 2020.

For more information, see Government increases support for self-employed across the UK from gov.uk