Rishi Sunak to give 600,000 extra self-employed grants of up to £7,500 in tomorrow’s Budget

RISHI Sunak will today reveal extra help for 600,000 self employed Brits who have been shut out of Government support during the pandemic.

The Chancellor will reveal that hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom became self-employed in 2019-20, will now be able to claim direct cash grants under the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

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Anyone who filled in a tax return in January – or is due to – will be able to get the extra help.

It means they will be able to access the £7,500 in extra help that others have been able to claim.

And there will be another grant over the summer too as the support package for millions of people continues.

2.7million self-employed people have got access to help so far, and this will take the total to more than 3.3 million.

It’s likely the cash payouts will only be available to workers who meet a certain criteria to acknowledge that some businesses will have had to stay shut through the third national lockdown.

Up to three million self-employed workers were not eligible for the first three grants.

Self-employed workers who are company directors or run their businesses as limited companies were also unable to apply.

Rishi Sunak, The Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “Our Covid support schemes have been a lifeline to millions, protecting jobs and incomes across the UK.

“There’s now light at the end of the tunnel with a roadmap for reopening, so it’s only right that we continue to help business and individuals through the challenging months ahead – and beyond.”

Mr Sunak also will reveal in tomorrow’s Budget:

• Furlough will be extended right through until September – with 80 per cent of wages paid
• But employers will have to cough up more cash from July – with 10% in July and 20% in August and September towards the hours their staff do not work
• The self-employed will get a fourth grant of up to £7,500 and a fifth grant will come within months to get firms through until summer

When the self-employment scheme was launched, the Treasury said the help was based on tax returns for 2018-2019, the most recent year for which data was available.

They said it wasn’t possible for the newly self-employed to qualify, and said it could open up the system to fraud.

But now this data is available, it means hundreds of thousands more people will be eligible for the extra help.

The Chancellor will outline further details tomorrow.

It will be a huge relief for the thousands who have been shut out of help for months.

Mr Sunak is expected to continue the huge support for businesses for months to come – until they can get back up and running again over the summer.

The PM hopes all restrictions can be ditched by June 21 at the earliest, to get the nation back to normal.

Universal Credit’s £20 a week uplift is expected to continue for six months until September.

More green measures are also thought to be on the cards ahead of the UK hosting COP26 in November in Glasgow.

The VAT holiday for the hospitality industry is also expected to continue, giving hard-hit firms a helping hand.

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Business grants and loans will continue to be offered.

And the Chancellor will reveal more plans to help get people back into work with schemes such as the Kickstart programme and Restart.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk