SEISS: Who is eligible for third grant? Many self-employed have ‘fallen through cracks'

Dan Stopp, UK Accounting Manager at Bokio, toldExpress.co.uk: “I think the Government can certainly do more to support those that have been left out and ensure all self-employed people have equal access to grants.

“A first step, would be to apply more leniency when assessing applications, and to ease up on the eligibility criteria for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

“At the moment, there’s no denying that the Government deserves some criticism, not only for its harsh eligibility criteria, but also for the self-employment schemes lacking funding compared to the furlough and Job Retention Scheme.”

A HM Treasury spokesperson toldExpress.co.uk: “Our Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) is one of the most generous in the world and has helped more than 2.7 million people so far.

“And around 95 percent of those with more than half their income from self-employment in 2018-19 could be eligible for the SEISS Grant Extension.

‘’We have done all we can to help as many people as possible; but for those that have not been eligible it has often been for reasons like mitigating the risk of fraud.”