Coronavirus: Aid for tradesmen and taxi drivers hailed in NI as chancellor unveils £9bn-worth of self-employment relief

A £9 billion package of support will see the Government give millions of self-employed people a grant worth up to £2,500 a month to help them cope with the coronavirus crisis.
By Adam Kula
Published 26th Mar 2020, 19:23 BST
Downing Street handout photo of Chancellor Rishi Sunak holding a digital Covid-19 Press Conference in 10 Downing Street, London.Downing Street handout photo of Chancellor Rishi Sunak holding a digital Covid-19 Press Conference in 10 Downing Street, London.
Downing Street handout photo of Chancellor Rishi Sunak holding a digital Covid-19 Press Conference in 10 Downing Street, London.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak said tonight that his scheme, which will be open for at least three months, will cover 80% of a self-employed person’s average monthly profits.

Economy minister Diane Dodds (DUP, Upper Bann) hailed the announcement as “much-needed”, while the Northern Ireland branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said it will offer a measure of security for “taxi-drivers, hairdressers, plumbers, electricians, and many more”.

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But it may not be available until June, and will only be available to those who have a tax return for 2019 – meaning the newly self-employed will be ineligible.

And Mr Sunak warned that the self-employed could face tax hikes in the future as part of the effort to “right the ship” and repair the battered public finances after the coronavirus crisis is over.

Mr Sunak’s scheme will be open to those with a trading profit of less than £50,000 in 2018-19, or an average trading profit of less than £50,000 from 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19.

To qualify, more than half of their income in these periods must come from self-employment.

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Up to 3.8 million people will qualify for support, with average monthly payments expected to be £940 per person.

Mr Sunak said the scheme “is one of the most generous in the world”.

But in a hint that the self-employed could be asked to pay more to the taxman in future he said it was “now much harder to justify” the tax breaks on offer to the self-employed if they were receiving the same level of state support.

He said everyone would be “chipping in together to right the ship afterwards” once the crisis is over.

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Economy minister Mrs Dodds said: “The self-employed and sole traders have been waiting to receive the help. Previous schemes announced by the Treasury did not apply to them.

“So it is heartening that those workers – in all areas of our society – can now access the vital funds they need to keep going until this crisis ends.”

She also said a loan scheme, worth £10,000 to small firms, will begin paying out on March 31 at the latest (for more, see here: covid-19smallbusinessgrants.economy-ni.gov.uk)

Meanwhile Roger Pollen, the FSB’s head of external affairs for Northern Ireland, said: “Over the last number of weeks self-employed people have seen support introduced for employee incomes and grants for some businesses, but have felt left behind as they have seen their own incomes dry up.”

He said the announcement will spell “hope to many”.

Related topics:Rishi SunakGovernmentDiane DoddsNorthern IrelandDUP