Written Evidence – Economic Impact of Coronavirus Individual Submissions – Batch 3 – Reported by the Committee on 15 April 2020

Written Evidence – Economic impact of coronavirus Individual submissions – Batch 3 – reported by the Committee on 15 April 2020

Nicola Smith I write as a self employed small business owner. Firstly I’d like to say the package you’ve put together for employees is amazing.

Now could you please treat the self employed equally?

I’m a tattooist and own a shop providing work for two other self employed people. Whilst I’m (hopefully) eligible for the £10000 SBRR grant, which will help to pay my businesses bills for a while, this doesn’t help my personal finance situation.

I’m a single mother with two university students heading home and my youngest who’s effectively just finished year 11. I have rent to pay (no mortgage payment holiday for me), and bills to pay and a lot of food needed to feed four adults for the foreseeable future. All at a time when my income has totally dried up.

Whilst I took the difficult decision to close my shop from this week, I’d ask you to consider the fact that many self employed people such as myself work in very close proximity to their customers. Hairdressers, barbers, nail technicians etc etc. If we were as fully supported as the employed population we wouldn’t be in the invidious position of choosing between protecting public health and feeding our children.

Could you use our tax returns to see how much we made last year, less our tax liability, and then pay us 80% of that up to £2500 per month? Wouldn’t that be the easiest and fairest way to deal with this?

Also, I realise this is going off topic but something else needs to be done for those of us renting our homes. I don’t think my land lady has a mortgage on the property I’m living in, so can’t ask for a mortgage payment holiday. I’m not going to be able to pay my rent in two days’ time and that’s going to leave her short of income. Jason Hunt It’s very tough for all of us right now, self-employed individuals like myself are no different – we’re people with liabilities, dependents and no job security at all.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme excludes many workers, including the self-employed, gig economy workers and, potentially, those on zero-hour contracts.

There are 6 million self-employed workers in the UK, many of whom are already experiencing the economic impact of the outbreak. This can be devastating, particularly in cases where all or significant streams of income have immediately stopped.

Many workers are putting the health of others and the NHS first by self-isolating. Some will have become ill and many will have reduced hours due to increased childcare responsibilities now that the schools have closed. Even in cases where remote work is the norm, lots of work is being cancelled or postponed as clients are uncertain about the future. The discrepancy between the support for employees and other workers is significant and arbitrary: all workers should be treated equally.

Norway is compensating self-employed people who have lost work with 80% of their average income over the last 3 years. A similar system should be implemented here for workers not covered by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

Universal Credit excludes many workers – including those with tax bills that exceed the savings threshold – so support should be made available through another mechanism. And many self- employed people such as myself have to save money for HMRC tax payments (Self-Assessment and VAT) so this has to be ignored.

The deferral of Payments On Account is of no comfort either. This is a loan to and from the self- employed, payable in full six months later. In many cases, the deferred figure won’t be enough to sustain a business. Even in cases where it is, saving that amount again in such a short period of time is unfeasible given the likely climate for the next few months.

Given the scale and gravity of the situation for many workers, it’s imperative that immediate action is taken: not in a week or a month, but today.

Please consider supporting all workers by ensuring the government reviews this policy as soon as possible to help self-employed people across the country who are struggling. Bob Shipsey Hi, I should think there are a great number of freelance workers including myself who now have little or no work / income for the foreseeable future.

Some will manage and some will really struggle and likely fall by the wayside.

How this can be resolved is no easy question.

It is my opinion that no single person should be treated any differently from another in these extraordinary times.

How about everyone - employed and freelance and out of work being put on a basic payment?

As a freelance worker I find 80% quite a high amount to be paying people as compared to 0% for myself.

How about not only freezing mortgages (As has been done) but also freezing rent payments.

These are not 'normal' times in any respect and every single person should be treated the same.

Good luck and keep up the good work. Oliver Hayhurst I am writing to express my worry at the fact that I am completely unable to work for the foreseeable future and my income is now zero. I am a self-employed freelance musician and have been comfortably making a living this way since leaving college 20 years ago. All my work has been cancelled for at least the next few months with no offer of compensation. This seems grossly unfair when the employed are being supported by government intervention. I have to pay a mortgage and child support every month and the offer of a mortgage holiday is not going to prevent my savings being rapidly eaten away. Universal credit is a paltry amount and is not simple to apply for. I am hearing reports it is currently impossible to get an interview. Surely it is possible and would be fair to give support to the self-employed based on the last few years tax returns? Wayne Broom You've asked for evidence to see if the Treasury are doing enough.

I think what they have proposed is amazing for the majority of the workforce.

However, I'm a Supply teacher, my Agency are unsure whether they can claim the 80% for their Agency Workers, can the government be more clear on this.

Also it has been mentioned that if we are that we can only claim based on the month February. As day to day Supply we do not get offered work every day, although we are available every day. So February was a very lead month for myself and I assume many others, depending on where you work in the country. Also in February we had a half term where schools were closed.

I think it would be best based on the average month over the last 12 months based on your upcoming P60.

My Agency do not think I will get any work until this crisis is over, potentially no work until September. Supply teachers are a vital part of support for the teaching profession, providing qualified teachers to cover for teachers who are ill or out for training. If we are not getting any support over the coming months I can see many Supply teachers seeking other forms of work, potentially permanently. This would leave a shortage of Supply when the profession would need it most. Janine Stejskal I’m writing to inform you of the impact the Coronavirus is having on my childminding business.

As a self-employed childminder I have been instructed to close my doors and only open for key workers, I have no children that qualify. I offer wrap-around care and therefore have no children in receipt of funding. I have gone from earning £280 per week to earning £0.

I have already had 10 months off work due to having surgeries for ovarian cancer and kidney cancer. Luckily surgery has cured me. Whilst recuperating I have been in receipt of Employment and Sickness Allowance at £73.10 per week. I returned to work on 2nd March, what a welcome back!

I’m worried that my bills and mortgage won’t be paid, if I was employed and forced not to work, say at McDonald’s or in a bar, I would be able to claim 80% of my wages. What can I claim as a self- employed childminder? Definitely not 80% of my earnings!!!

Please look into the implications of forced closure on childminding settings, are we still going to have a business to reopen? Should I seek other employment which would result in 7 families looking for 9 places at alternative childcare?

There are over 40,000 Childminders that provide an invaluable service for working families, a lot of us are reconsidering our careers at the moment. Debbie Francis I am a self employed registered childminder who has been forced to close as of today. I don’t qualify for Uc as partner is earning wage. This will not cover our outgoing bills let alone enable us to buy food. I earn under the tax threshold and have been building my business over the last two years so have had high expenditure. While the employed are having 80% of their wages I am left with no income or possibly £94 a week on which to live if they do allow us to claim us. My partner will be forced to survive off 80% of his wages which will be based on his basic hours which means a shortfall of £100 a week before the 80% is implemented. This will force us into huge debt even with a 3 month mortgage holiday. Please please put some sort of financial package in place to help us as we fall through the loopholes of general self employed and employed. Dan Needham I am a self employed videographer working in various industries, based in London.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Otherwise people will possibly feel like they have no choice but to work when sick, if their industry has not already been decimated by Covid-19. However, in industries such as film and TV, there is no industry at all to work in. It will take a long time to come back.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Anita and Stephen Lees To share our situation as childminders, we are husband and wife childminder team.

We have not got the safety net of guaranteed paid employment (for which we are pleased at your intervention on).

We are key workers and trying to serve the nurses and care workers in our area, however this business could dry up at any time especially if we have to isolate ourselves.

We have a child ourselves who is dependent on us providing for him.

We are not afraid to put our whole family in harms way to give key workers chance to work.

We have two sets of elderly parents we shop for but cannot see.

We along with many other childminders in our area provide a strong service that will disappear overnight if not supported financially, and the country will struggle to replace this large provision without huge funding and training programmes.

Please we implore you, do not leave behind our whole industry. This situation is tough we all understand, but dividing the workers into employed & self employed is creating very evident rifts in our country. David Walker I am a self employed stage manager working in theatre.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Otherwise people will possibly feel like they have no choice but to work when sick, if their industry has not already been decimated by Covid-19. However, in industries such as theatre, film and TV, there is no industry at all to work in. It will take a long time to come back.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Rebecca Hill My husband is a self employed event host and toastmaster and Ian’s self employed consultant.

We pay tax like anyone on a PAYE contract, and yet someone on a PAYE contract could access around £25,000 of support over a year and yet we could only access around £4,800 each over the same time period, and that is only if we actually qualify for universal credit in the first place.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years with an upper cap.

Otherwise people will possibly feel like they have no choice but to work when sick, if their industry has not already been decimated by Covid-19. However, in the events industry all work has been cancelled until start of September and due to the impending introduction of IR35 employers are no longer using contractors. It will take a long time to come back.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Anna O’Brien I am writing to ask you to create better support for those who are self employed at this time. I run a Storytelling company and all of my work has been cancelled as it is either in educational settings or public performances. I have no work for the foreseeable future.

Grants to create new, non contact storytelling projects would be very beneficial as well as monetary support to carry us through this next phase.

I hope you consider the very important contribution the free lance and self employed sector makes to our economy and communities and culture. Ali McBride I am writing in response to your call for evidence on the Government's financial response to the corona virus.

The Government's offer to the self-employed is an insult to millions of hard-working people who contribute so much to society.

We call on you to give the same protection to the self-employed (including sole operators working as a limited company) as has been afforded to PAYE employees - 80% of income up to the threshold of £2,500 per month after tax. This has to be the absolute minimum and for most will be a huge drop in salary in and of itself. This can be assessed through recent tax returns.

There are approximately 5 million Self-Employed workers in Britain. For many of us, all contracts have been terminated with immediate effect and ALL income stopped overnight. Currently the government’s protection of 80% of salary up to £2,500 per month applies only to the percentage of freelancers who are also PAYE.

The offer of £94.25 a week to the self-employed (through universal credit) is not only insulting, for many the sudden, drastic drop in income could put millions of individuals and families in great debt. The effects will be catastrophic without urgent and immediate action.

As a Television freelancer, I have paid national insurance for decades. But I have never been eligible for sick pay. I have never been eligible for unemployment benefit between jobs - because I am classed as 'unavailable for work'.

Many freelance TV workers have already experienced a loss of earnings over January and February, due to the commissioning calendar for television series - the new raft of commissions usually translates into productions taking on staff in March.

With no financial protection to fall back on like that afforded to PAYE workers, the huge numbers of self-employed people are inevitably adding to the growing health crisis. If the government is serious about social distancing it needs to make it financially viable for the armies of self employed from taxi drivers to market traders to do so.

If the government leaves this tranche of workers unprotected, the stress and anxiety people will suffer as a result will become a mental health time bomb. Jaimi Rainsford I am a self employed actress who usually works in a variety of entertainment mediums, stage, voiceover, audiobook, tv etc. I have a young family.

I pay tax like anyone on a PAYE contract, and yet someone on a PAYE contract could access around £25,000 of support over a year and yet I could only access around £4,800 over the same time period, and that is only if I actually qualify for universal credit in the first place. This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Anonymous Both myself and husband are both self employed. We have worked all our lives and never claimed benefits. We are both 50 years of age with mortgages and other expenses like most people. I myself am a registered childminder and have been told to close unless I look after a key worker child. My husband runs his own small scaffolding company and employees one person. The government need to help the self employed people and not just employed. Statutory Sick Pay and Universal Credit is an absolute disgrace. Please please help the self employed population. If we are to follow the rules as set out by government regarding this terrible disease then we too need financial help as offered to the employed. Catrin Osborne Im responding to sending evidence about how the corona virus has affected self employed people.

Im a yoga teacher and I work predominantly at Yogahome and The Life Centre in London

Both closed their doors so all my work was cancelled until further notice. Yogahome (see forwarded e mail below are now putting videos on their site but we wont get paid!)

I also had a retreat in France organised this summer which Im having to cancel - all my income has disappeared

I am now only entitled to Universal Credit

I think self employed people and people on zero hours contracts should be entitled to more money ie 80% of their average earnings over the last few years Alex Thomas I’m writing today to raise my personal issues as well as others in the same boat.

I work as a freelance outdoor instructor for the majority of the year and (by my choice) I have a zero hours contract as a place of employment during the winter months to keep paying bills.

As an outdoor instructor I work mainly with people aged 5-18 providing much needed life and leadership skills. A huge proportion of that is as a supervisor and assessor for the Duke of Edinburgh award. I also work on multi-activity residential course with all ages from schools. With schools now closed for the foreseeable future my contracts of work for the year have gone and I don’t know when they will start up again.

As a business sector that provides so much good for the younger generation, a platform to develop skills outside of the classroom I feel it hugely important that this is valued now by our government.

I would like to encourage as much positive movement as possible to get a bill put through to support all the self employed. Whether this is based on last years tax return per person, or a universal credit for the self employed I’m sure it would be much welcomed for those of us with complete uncertainty for the next year.

I understand the massive pressures during these uncertain timescales but am compelled to share my position.

I hope during the coming days, weeks and months everyone can adhere to our prime minister words and we can come out the other side intact and unified as a nation. Marie Rowe Please would you review the huge amount of self employed franchise owners in the UK who have been left without income and also, immediately in debt.

I am a travel agency owner with Travel Counsellors, there are about 1000 of us in the UK plus some franchised agency owners with some other, smaller travel firms.

All of our upcoming client bookings have been cancelled and we have refunded them which has put as at an immediate loss as we lost commissions. Our mid-term business is at risk of the same cancellations and our long-term business won’t pick up until holidaymaker regain their trust that travelling is safe and that the holiday destinations have recovered from the impact to their local economy.

We have mortgages to pay, rent, bills, kids, cats…. The same as anyone else who is employed. We’re in a crisis right now.

If the circumstances were different, it would be easier to find new work but our skills are in an industry that won’t be recruiting for a while.

Please review this. We can easily evidence our monthly incomes over the last 3 years and if you would consider paying 80% up to £2.5k as you have offered with other employed staff in the UK, our industry is much more likely to survive as we will all return to it once things pick up again.

Please… Beata and Simon I've only started my cleaning buisness 2 years ago, it's a real struggle as it is.

ÀLL of my customers are now self isolating or distancing and let me tell you- not for 12 weeks - until it's all over which means I will probably be without an income for months. I can totally understand thier concerns as most of them are over 70y/80y and most with health issues but I just don't know what am I supposed to do now ? I've got 2 children,one just got back home as his university is closed,younger one off school (high school) .My partners earnings hardly cover our bills...We are going to lose our home ...There has to be something you can do for self employed???

We are desperate .... Karen Cliffe I have been working as a registered childminder from my home for the last 15 years. I have had to close my doors from today as none of my families have critical keyworker roles and I am now without any income. The government have said they will support the employed but the package on offer for the self employed is nothing in comparison. I simply won’t be able to manage/ pay my bills on statutory sick pay, and the option to delay July tax payments does not apply to me as I have already paid all of my tax due. I fear that my business, that I have worked so hard for over the years, will simply not survive. Please reconsider how Government can support the self employed and keep our businesses afloat. I am not unique, I am one of many, and we need help and we need it now Justin Pickard A sincere thank you for issuing this call for evidence. I’m not sure about numerical evidence, but my own case might be instructive.

I’ve been registered as a full-time PhD student at the University of Sussex since 2013, having been a recipient of 1+3 research funding (covering a Master's degree and three years of research study), which came to an end in October 2016, leaving me liable for a year of home student tuition fees. At the end of that period, I submitted my thesis for a viva, which resulted in a further year of registration as a full-time student, to revise and resubmit my work (later extended for mental health reasons).

So in the past 3.5 years, I’ve relied on a mix of intermittent freelance work (during which time I’ve never earned over the minimum income threshold for SA tax), parental support, and the liquidity of my partner, who is employed as a civil servant. Under the current circumstances, I have agreed with my supervisors to file for intermission, stopping the clock and putting my studies on hold, initially for six months; something enabled by the university. Nonetheless, as far as I can see, I am still registered and classified as a full-time student for the duration, leaving me ineligible for universal credit.

I am by no means the most vulnerable among these groups, having readily identifiable skills in research, editing, writing, etc., and am apply to rely on my family and wider professional network for support. Not everyone in these overlapping groups (students, whether undergrad or post-grad, and the self-employed) will have access to these resources. Equally, it is not the case that everyone who is freelance or self-employed is working full-time. Many people will be in a worse position than me. Please take this into account. David Marsh When asking whether the Government's response is sufficient I would ask you to consider my position and the stark financial choices I now face.

I am self-employed doing 1 day a week freelance IT work for a previous employer and the remainder of the time doing freelance writing for outdoor magazines. Last year I earned around £9,000 in total.

My freelance IT work is now about to stop because of the Covid-19 situation. My freelance journalism brings in on average £150 a month. I have some savings I have built up since I was 6 to the tune of £30,000. I am now 52. Those savings were for a rainy day and for my retirement. I have always been prudent with my money and never spent beyond my means and this is how I have built those savings.

Because of those savings however, I do not qualify for ANY of the increased safety net protections for the self-employed or, for that matter, Statutory Sick Pay. I feel I am being totally penalized for a lifetime's prudence. My choice as it currently stands is to live off my savings until the point is reached where I qualify for £94 a week. Meanwhile I see fellow IT colleagues for the company I freelance for being assured of 80% of their salaries because they are on the payroll.

I ask you, how can that be fair? Hannah Williamson I am writing to let you know my situation as a childminder and self employed person.

We have been told that we have to close business to protect our country which I totally understand, but in this situation we are completely at a loss.

-Unless we have the virus we cannot claim (a pitiful) £94 a week sick pay

-We can only stay open for key workers/the vulnerable and should we be unfortunate to not have any on our books we lose all of our income

-I have been able to stay open for one part time key worker but this will not satisfy my bills

-Insurance doesn’t cover us for loss of income

-We do not attract the benefit of suspended business rates as we work from home

-Generally childminders would not earn enough to need VAT payments suspended (I don’t for sure!)

-Self assessment tax can be paid up until January anyway, so I don’t think there is much change there

-We are classed as key workers ourselves and have to put our own family at risk to care for others but this is the only option we have

I feel at present that a lot is being done for those who are employed, those who are vulnerable and those who fall into any other category....but self employed? I pay my taxes in full as soon as my SA is lodged and I feel it’s very unfair. We have been forgotten about. We need help, help to get through this terrible situation.

Although I feel like this about my own situation, I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister and his team on how well this is all being managed otherwise. Such a hard job to do and I think he is being overall brilliant. Rebecca Ramsden I am a self employed Producer

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years. Otherwise people will possibly feel like they have no choice but to work when sick, if their industry has not already been decimated by Covid-19. However, in industries such as theatre, film and TV, there is no industry at all to work in. It will take a long time to come back.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Mike O'Farrell In response to your call for evidence, I write to illustrate my own position and that of many colleagues affected.

My work as a musician, director and teacher in the classical music industry has been decimated by the current situation. Whilst I am fortunate to be employed part-time by two educational institutions, the majority of my teaching, playing and conducting work is self-employed. This is based in the very thing most affected by the COVID-19 response - educational institutions now closed, and large gatherings of people - rehearsals, concerts, recordings, seminars.

I am exploring the possibility to work in a digital space, but this will inevitably come with a reduction in quality and volume possible, and thus a large drop in income.

In this emergency situation, I believe an averaging of HMRC-submitted annual incomes over the past several years, as I have seen suggested by numerous petitions, and available as a tax-free grant to those affected, would be the most reasonable response. The current situation of ESA averaging less than £400 a month is completely untenable, and unfair. Anonymous I'm writing to add my voice to the self employed community of workers who need financial help from the government.

I am a freelance copywriter and as a sole trader I am desperate for financial help.

I have no more freelance jobs lined up and will not be able to work for the foreseeable future as no one is hiring writers in my industry.

I have money in my savings account for tax bills and also money put aside as my pension. My wife works part time so is our only source of income. All this means I am not eligible for Universal Credit as we're over the threshold.

We have outgoings that we will soon not be able to cover as I was the main breadwinner. I have no income and no prospect of any, anytime soon.

I feel there is no help out there for me currently (and a deferred tax bill will still have to be paid - and I'll have even less money by then).

My plea is that an 80% of earnings rescue package is offered in the same vein as employed people (bearing in mind they are allowed savings). This will help make sure our self employed businesses don't go under and we all have careers to go back to. Charlotte Greeno I am a self employed childminder in Cambridge and have been asked to share what impact closing due to the virus has had. I am the main income earner for my household where I care for my mother with mental health needs. Cambridge, where I live and work also has a high living cost.

From the end of the month I will potentially be earning £4.75/hour for two days a week looking after one child from a keyworker family. This could go down to less. A weekly wage of £76 a week.

This means all bills and living costs are a real concern, including having enough money to buy food. I have no idea how long this situation is likely to continue for or If i will be in a position to reopen when this is over.

Not only this but it is having a real impact on the children in my care who have a very limited understanding of what is going on, and I have no idea if I will be caring for any of them in the future due to the lack of information regarding how long settings are likely to be closed for. Lewis Hatfull There are almost 5 million of us across all sectors, contributing £145 billion to the UK economy. We need for parity with what’s now being offered to employees – 80% of their salary to a maximum of £2500/month on average over 3 years.

Please do not forget about us. We already fall between the cracks on so many other issues but to not even be considered at this time is heart breaking. Emma Barretto This is in response for the request for evidence to support childminders who are self employed.

Firstly thank you for all the work the government/civil service is doing at the moment.

When the schools were shut to all but critical worker’s children and vulnerable children - nurseries, preschools and childminders also were instructed to follow these same rules.

Nurseries and preschools are businesses and so can benefit from the business rate relief and 80% wage grants that the chancellor has so generously provided.

Childminders are not protected in this same way. These are for the most part sole trader, self- employed people. The majority of who are women and parents. There are approximately 40,000 childminders in the UK.

Many of these childminders - of which I am one - have lost their entire income as of Friday and if not all, some or a large majority of their income.

I lost all my income which varies between £400-£800 per month gross. During the school holidays it was expected to be much higher.

I charge in advance so am having to repay the money I have already received for this month.

There is very little help or support for the self employed at present and there seems to be a huge inequality between what is available for PAYE tax payers and those who do self assessment.

For universal credit you need face to face interviews and these are reportedly all cancelled and the system overrun with enquiries.

Please bear in mind that childminders include many single mothers.

Please please please can you look into this for them. I am one of the lucky ones. I have a husband who currently has a well paid job. Many are not so lucky. If you need anymore information about this I am happy to provide the details.

Good luck with everything during this hugely challenging time. I hope you and your staff and family stay safe. Amanda Briggs I am writing to share my dismay at nothing being done to help childminders who were shut with 2 days notice last week, I totally understand why but we were told we would get compensation and we have had nothing! I have lost my whole income! I have £0 coming in from the 1st April, my husband is also self employed so only entitled to the basic £94 a week, that is not enough for our family to live on, please help, there are a lot of childminders in the same circumstances feeling desperate, not knowing what they are going to do! please don’t leave us out thinking we are unimportant, I have 9 families who rely on me for childcare! That is 9 families who would need to find alternative care when this is over because I have had to find another job (if there are any!) I have run my business for 22 years please don’t make me close and let all my families down. Tiernan Douieb I'm a professional stand-up comedian and writer. Most of my earnings were from doing live shows, all of which have been understandably cancelled by the coronavirus. I have lost several thousands of pounds of work as every show has been cancelled from now until the summer. My partner is also a freelancer and has lost 98% of all her work, and we both rent privately and our landlords have not given us any break from payments. We also have a toddler and up until this week have had to cover childcare costs and are now struggling to find and search for work while also looking after our daughter.

While any support is appreciated, universal credit barely covers any of our monthly costs, or recuperates any of our lost finances at all. 30% off rent is better than nothing but still leaves us paying just under £1000 a month, which is hard when we have absolutely no earnings. I have some savings that may last us a month or so, but after that it's unclear. I earned £33k last year and my wife earned just over £24k. £94 a week is only just over 7th of my average earnings and a 5th of my wife's.

So many comedians and performers in our industry are terrified about being made homeless in coming weeks, or running out of money to get food and pay bills. Yet they are also the same people making content, running online shows, providing worksheets and exercise classes for now homeschooled children. We have all paid tax on account too as the first payment was due end of January. Please bring in more support for the self-employed, and more support for those privately renting as the panic of not being able to get through this is causing a lot of anxiety. Dr Ralph and Mrs Sophie Houston As a freelancer (as is my wife), I wish to emphasise to you that the economy of this country is completely dependent on freelancers and millions on zero-hours contracts. We should be covered by your provisions. Amy Collier I am emailing on behalf of my partner James Sullivan who is a professional jockey, he now has NO income what so ever, racing has been suspended until at least the end of April. We have a mortgage to pay and bills to pay, what help is there for the self employed ?

The employees have seen a big help as have businesses with premises, but James does not benefit from any of this, he is not employed, he does not have benefits, the vat deferral does not help as he has no income to pay vat on, he has got through the winter which is the ‘off season’ and is just coming in to the peak season and suddenly has no income.

I really hope that you will provide financial support in the very foreseeable future to help him and many of his fellow colleagues. Tanya Jones I plead from the bottom of my heart Boris can help & support all the childminders out there that like myself after loosing EVERYTHING on Friday.

I have been a Ofsted registered childminder for 6yrs, I built my business up over the years from working alone to now having 2 assistants that work alongside me everyday.

On Friday I was forced to close my doors to all the amazing families I care for every day.

I’ve left families without childcare which has resulted in them not being able to work.

I’ve had to let my 2 assistants go, leaving them with no income.

My business has collapsed and I’ve no income either! I cannot pay my bills, buy food for my 5 children or pay my rent, I privately rent and I’m so scared we will be made homeless :(

I was a very high standard, recommended known childcare provider in my local area and I’ve lost everything!!!

Please please please help us childminders feed our families, pay our bills and keep a roof over our heads during this most horrific time I’m literally begging you :( Michelle McCarthy The self employed need the same help as the employed. Lisa Robinson I understand the Treasury Committee are requiring evidence that the Government's Financial response to Coronavirus is not enough.

Here's my personal story.

I am an Ofsted Registered Childminder.

I live with my husband, who is employed in a small manufacturing company, Our eldest son (21) is a supervisor, on minimum wage, in a retail store. we also have 3 school age children, one being disabled.

Our daughter has in the last couple of weeks had her Disability Living Allowance reduced to the very minimum, of Lower rate Care, from Middle rate care and low rate Mobility. I am currently putting together my appeal claim to prepare to go to Tribunal.

With the DLA being reduced, so has our Tax Credits award.

We claim Tax Credits (of £130.72 per week) as we are not in the criteria for Universal Credits as we have 3 children.

We live in a Social Housing home. we pay full rent of £95 per week and full council tax of £122 per month (From April).. From this morning (Monday 23rd March 2020), my doors are temporarily closed to children. I do have one key worker family, but as my daughter is on immunosuppressant medication, she is vulnerable therefore I have been advised by my local authority to close my doors.

So as from This morning, I am not earning any money. at all.

I cannot ask my parents to pay any form of retainer as the most of them have had to stay at home from their jobs, which means they are not receiving the government help of Childcare costs.

I have looked at the Universal Credits online claim. If my family fit the criteria, it takes into account my husbands wage and my eldest Son's, which in turn, means that I would have been eligible for just over £290 per week, this included housing benefit but did show that I was not entitled to council tax benefit.

Although, as my family do not fit the criteria. I cannot get anything.

My Husband earn on average £1500 per month

My Son Earns £1120 per month

My Income is usually £1500 per month (after expenses)

Your new financial plan system currently expects our family to live on £1200 less per month.

I do not pay business rates, as I work from home, so do not fall in the categories of being able to receive a Loan, Grant or reduced business rates, as offered to other businesses.

We do not qualify for the 3 month mortgage holiday as we are in social housing.

If the closures come of my Husbands company or my Sons, then if lucky, they will receive just 80% of their usual income. As my husbands company is a small manufacturing company, they won be able to pay as their income comes from the sale of their manufacturing, which they wont be able to do.

Childminders have a Unique system of doing their Tax Returns, with HMRC. Why has this not been thought of when the finance packages have been discussed? It is known that we have a unique set of circumstances regarding our incomes and expenditures.

For me to get back to normal once this is all over, I still have to continue to pay my registration subscriptions; Ofsted, ICO, Public liability Insurance amongst others.

I am still Self employed, I still have a business, I can still work, doing paperwork, planning and training during this time, but I will not be paid for it.

There needs to be a much more rigorous financial system for families and people like us Darren Evans This email reaches you as i find myself in a desperate situation. My concerns will be echoed by the rest of the karting industry. All indoor karting tracks have the problem of a relatively low turnover with very high running costs mainly being rent and rates because obviously the nature of the business requires large premises. We are in no mans land with regards to the rateable value ceiling of £51k (my rateable value is £75k) and thus excluded from any grant help. It is astonishing after having paid near millions in rates over the last 25 years i could only claim rate relief of £5000 which barely covers 1 month of my rate liability, whereas a business having only traded in a smaller building for a short time will receive full rate relief for 12 months and the accessibility to grant funding of £25k. This is scandalous. The insurance company have once again wriggled out of their responsibility. Landlords seem oblivious and have sent their rent demands as normal whilst ignoring phone calls and emails with pleas for help.

There have been murmurs from government with regard to help for domestic rentals but the commercial rental market desperately needs intervention.

The promise of government help with staff wages seems to be hanging in the ether. We are in the dilemma of trying to retain enough funds to continue trading when the dust settles but we are also expected to use those funds for staff wages until eventually we can claim them back.

Without government help my business of 25 years will fail, my staff will lose their jobs, an large industrial premises will remain empty and debts will go unpaid. Not to mention the loss of our family home. Viki Carter I am contacting you to draw your attention to the very specific complexities of freelancers in the Film and TV industry. I am a Production Manager in TV and a large part of my role is booking crew and freelancers as well as being a freelancer myself so I'm aware of the issue from both sides.

As I'm sure you're aware freelancers in the industry work on a short term contract basis but this can vary from daily to weekly to monthly and beyond. In my experience of over 15 years in the TV industry it is extremely rare that individuals are issued with a contract prior to starting work and often a contract is not issued until either weeks into a job or not at all. Many bookings are made via phone or if you're lucky email and the same with cancellation. My concern for those that have lost jobs that they had been booked for is that they won't have a decent paper trail to confirm that if it is deemed necessary to claim any possible compensation / benefits.

Not everyone will have been in work when their job got cancelled but they may have been due to start a contract. Or possibly they may have had a series of jobs lined up all of which some or all are now cancelled.

To further complicate things freelancers across the industry operate in a number of different ways - some roles are short term PAYE contracts, some individuals operate as sole traders and some through Ltd Companies so this must also be taken into account when considering support. For example, there may be a Runner who (in accordance with HMRC guidelines specific to the Film & TV Industry) is PAYE, booked on a job due to start next week for a month which has now been cancelled - clearly they don't fall into the category of PAYE individuals who will be paid 80% of their wages up to £2,500 as currently they don't have an employer.

I believe there are a number of ways to offer financial support but perhaps the most straight forward is to take an average of someone's earnings over the last 3 years by tax returns or P60s therefore covering all of the various tax situations (PAYE, Sole Trader & Ltd Co). I'm sure the likes of BECTU and PACT would also be able to offer guidance and advice on standard rates for each job grade if that was of assistance.

I absolutely understand that the government is dealing with multiple situations across many differing industries and optimistically hope that the only reason a support package for self employed hasn't been offered yet is down to the fact that the Treasury is trying to work through what is obviously a very complex issue before issuing any statement. I would be happy to submit further details/examples/evidence of employment practices in the TV industry if it would be useful.

Thank you in advance for your support in these difficult times. Julie Aherne In response to your call for evidence, I wanted to ask you to do more to help the self-employed.

My partner and I are both self-employed musicians with no savings, living in rented accommodation.

Our employment is usually very stable and predictable, consisting of directing and accompanying choirs, coaching opera, and running an annual summer school in northern Italy. We also both teach piano in independent schools. Over the last fortnight, all of this has disappeared, and although we remain committed to finding income where it’s available, and are investing time and money in technological solutions, it’s clear that we will take a sizeable hit in income.

I am disappointed and hurt that the government feels that they can pay employed people 80% of their salary, but that self-employed people, who pay similar levels of tax, must claim benefits. You are equating self-employment with unemployment. If we both claim universal credit, it would cover only 2/3 of our monthly rent, and no other bills, food etc. We live in a small terraced house which we share with a third person to keep costs down.

I appreciate it might be difficult to know how much we would have earned, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem for you when you want to work out how much tax we should pay on account, for income we have yet to declare, or even receive sometimes.

At present, you are falling woefully short of even doing the bare minimum for self-employed people. Nick Mitchell The Job Retention Scheme is a good idea but the wording is that it applies to a business. Some employers with a PAYE scheme are not a business, so clarification regarding to whom the Job Retention Scheme is needed - so it is clear that it is intended to cover employers of domestic servants. Caroline Nongpluh I am writing to ask for some financial provision

I am a supply teacher working day to day,employed by an agency and paid through PAYE. I worked on a longer term assignment from January to February.. and then one in March.

At the moment I have no income. I have also Type 2 diabetes I have heard that if you have worked and was on PAYE you are entitled to 80%.

If I need to deal with this how would I go about it? Tracy Garrett I am writing regarding the call for evidence on Government's coronarivus financial package.

As a self employed freelance Line Producer/Production manager working in the television industry, COVID19 has had an immediate impact on our industry.

As many of us are either self employed freelancers, or on short term paye contracts we do not appear to be eligible for the same lifeline that is being given to permanent employees. Freelancers in the industry work on a production by production basis, and as many companies are currently unable to work, we cannot plan filming on location or in studios and maintain the social distancing that is currently required. Production companies cannot proceed with planned development, productions have been cut or abandoned. The freelancers and short term paye individuals will not be able to get work or receive payment from production companies and will have no way to pay their mortgage, utility bills let alone feed a family. Some of us are fortunate to have a small amount of savings that is set aside for our tax payments, but using that money will mean they do not have the funds set aside to pay their tax bill when it is time to do so.

Our freelance and short term contract workers need urgent assistance and reassurance that the Government will enable them to receive reasonable financial aid to enable them to navigate through these difficult times.

I look forward with interest to news on how the Government are going to deal with this sector which contributes hugely to the economy of the UK. Bev Senior I’m writing as a childminder who has had to close my business as instructed by the government because of the coronavirus outbreak and now I hear I can’t claim any money. What am I supposed to do? I’m hoping you can look into this and help all childminders in our country. Richard Southall I wish to respond to the Government’s current measures to help the self-employed. As a self- employed individual for over 30 years, it has taken many years of hard work and effort to build up my business to its current size and profitability. On a weekly basis, my fixed costs are considerably more than the derisible offer of help made by the Chancellor. How am I expected to continue the business (which also supports other freelancers such as assistants, models, make up artists etc) and support my family as well, with the current aid package to the self-employed, which doesn’t either cover the cost of my home rent?

As an advertising and architectural photographer, I compete in the largest creative sector in the UK (photography currently employs 46,000 individuals - Skillset 2017 figures) of which are 90% are self- employed. All now face the same agonising decision on how we are to proceed. Given the Government’s current and valid advice to limit social contact, virtually all photography commissions/shoots have been cancelled for the duration of the crisis. Coupled with the great amount of uncertainty by individuals as to whether they will be paid, if at all, for completed work - this leads to an immediate cashflow crisis. The current lack of support to the industry will see it crash within the next 2 weeks and the adjoining service industry of photographic retailers, photo labs, picture libraries, rental houses etc shortly afterwards.

The UK is world known for producing the best creative photographers and image makers and they are highly sought after internationally. Given the Government’s future goals for the creative industry, in a Post-Brexit environment, surely this is time to support one of its key players and help them survive and trade through this difficult environment.

Without a detailed package which not only supports self-employed’s wages (80% - which can be easily calculated by HRMC from previous tax returns) but also a fund to cover the fixed costs of these individuals businesses (rent, communications, leasing, etc) - you will help devastate a large proportion of the country’s economy. We only ask for fairness in your approach - watching the employed having their incomes supported up 80% of £25,000 whilst nothing has been done to help us, has at best, been galling.

I look forward to seeing how the Government react to our concerns, over the next few days. Jo Falcon-Cross I am writing to you to outline the fact that as a self employed business owner I am facing income loss as my own clients will stop needing my services.

I provide virtual business support for my clients however, if their own businesses (largely the leaves also self employed / sole traders) cease to trade then they will not only no longer need my services but will not be able to honour / ful fill the financial obligations of their contracts and I will have to close my business down.

Please reconsider the financial assistance plans for self employed workers, we are a large number and we need support just as much as those employed, salaried people at this extraordinary time. Damien Hyde I hope this message finds you well.

My name is Damien Hyde, I am 34 and live in Birmingham. I have been freelance for 5 years as a Camera Assistant and now as a Camera Operator working on such shows as Hollyoaks, Doctors, Shakespeare & Hathaway and Father Brown.

In the last three weeks I have gone from earning a potential 28K this financial year to earning absolutely nothing due to the closure of all BBC productions in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.

As a freelancer I have the responsibility of saving money for harder times such as Dec and January, often having to eat into my tax savings to survive and then replenish them once the work picks back up again in February-April. Even with my savings, the reality of losing 28K is obviously devastating to me and my partner who have in the last 6 months bought our first home.

I am writing to you today to firstly express my gratitude to the government for the relaxation of the Universal Credit and thank them for the help they have also provided in pushing back HMRC payments until 2021 however this is simply not enough to keep myself and my fellow self employed freelancers afloat during these unnerving times. The treasury have failed freelancers at this point.

Under the new regulations put in place by Mr Sunak, someone working full time and earning 30k per year would receive 24K from the govt via their employer. As a freelancer, even though my income would be in and around 30K I would only receive £4992. This simply is not fair and is certainly not what I expect from a party that champions entrepreneurialism and individualism with such enthusiasm.

I believe it would only be fair to implement the Norway style system wherein the government grants each of the 5 million self employed people in the UK 80% of their average yearly income over the past 3 years.

I hope that this email will give you an insight into the situation that myself and many other self employed people are currently facing.

I hope also that you will reconsider the steps taken thus far by the treasury and level the playing field for self employed people during these unprecedented and uncertain times. Anonymous I am writing with regards to the help package that has been announced for self employed people. I’m an actor, workshop leader and partner in a small tour operating business (organising educational visits to London’s West End.)

In the past few weeks I have seen all of my work be cancelled. As a workshop leader, all of my sessions have been cancelled due to the schools closing. As an actor, I have lost work due to the theatres closing and as a small business partner, we have lost everything due to both schools and theatres being closed ... our business won’t make any money for us now until at least December (that’s assuming that schools and theatres will have returned to business as usual from September.) The package that was announced for self employed people last week won’t touch the sides. The delay in taxable contributions for the July 31st date just pushes the problem back to January 31st when we’ll be expected to pay 100% plus half on account for the following year. It’s impossible on £94 per week. I have bills to pay and suppliers to pay. I’m very concerned that this awful situation is going to leave me being insolvent.

I’ve been self employed since 2005 and have been a tax payer for 26 years, never once claiming for any support of any kind.

I am asking for myself and the other 15% of the population who are also self employed to be treated like ‘employed’ people. It seems much fairer for us to have our previous 3 years’ self employed declarations to be taken into account and used to allow us to receive 80% of our declared income.

Lastly, on a safety point, there are a lot of self employed people who can’t afford to survive on £94 per week and those people will still go out to work.

Thank you for your time. Kate Graham The measures you have put in place during this awful time are incredibly helpful for employed households but for self employed the future looks incredibly bleak. Please look at our accounts averages and give us a percentage as you have done for the employed sector. It doesn’t have to be 80% but just something to enable us to feed our families and homeschool them whilst being completely unable to work. The universal credit system is already crashing and people cannot get through to apply.

I am an actor and my husband is a musician. Our household income went from 2 regular wages to zero upon the closure of the west end theatres. We are technically self employed though we both had full diaries for the rest of the year. We are working extremely hard at finding new ways to make ends meet or be of service to the community but this will take time and our first priority has to be providing stability for our 4 year old who is adjusting to home schooling and not seeing any other children which is extremely hard. We desperately want to provide stability and safety for him but at the moment we are waking up not knowing how we will afford to put food on the table next week.

Please please afford the self employed the same peace of mind as you have given others, we contribute in exactly the same way to the economy, we have never missed a tax/NI payment and at the moment we are just left feeling terrified. Nicola McCarthy I have been forced to close my childminding business. I’ve gone from having a good regular income to having to refuse the care of all contracted children due to the current COVID 19 situation. I fully understand why I’ve had to close and didn't hesitate in doing so. We all need to help prevent the spread of the virus.

However I am now in a situation where I have no money due to come in. I have 3 children of my own, one an RAF Officer training to fly, an adult daughter with complex mental illness currently at home due to university closures and an 11 year old off school.

From next week the household bills start to roll in, I don't know how I am going to pay them, or the mortgage or if we’ll have money to buy food.

Please look to support the self-employed as you have others.

This is very damaging for our family and it could realistically be the very end of the road for our childminding service. Childminding has been our life for the last 5 years.

Please help all self-employed childminders. Charity Wright I am a childminder, providing a vital service supporting 9 different families to work while providing a high quality early education for the children in my care. I have been a childminder since 2006.

Unfortunately the worsening coronavirus outbreak is likely to have a huge impact on the everyone and childminding sector - and while the recent announcement of the 'coronavirus job retention scheme' by the Chancellor will have been welcomed by many, as a self-employed childminder, I am deeply concerned about the future of my provision for me and my family.

Today I have closed my setting and remain open to Key worker children of which I have 1 on term time only contract. As a childminder, I am self employed with all tax and NI up to date. This is my only source of income. I have very limited income as of today due to the forced closure. What financial assistance is available for self employed Childminder’s and how do we access it?

If you would like to find out more about my situation please do not hesitate to contact me. Maria McLeod Please can you help us. My business has gone from looking after 15 children over the course of the week to one key worker child after school for two days. I currently only have one funded child, so even with the promise of this payment, it is not enough to cover mortgage, food for my family and all the bills we have to pay. I have paid my taxes and national insurance so cannot understand why I am not entitled to the same help as employed people. With both myself and my husband being self employed, we are facing a very bleak future and we are not sure how we can afford to keep going. All of the families I look after want me to look after their children when life returns to normal but I cannot promise that I will still be in business. Effectively everything I have worked for for the last 10 years, the business I have worked so hard for, the reputation I have could all be for nothing Please help us now, everyone’s children’s futures are in your hands Thank you Sharon Hobden I am a self employed stage manager, working in theatre.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation.

Kim Green

I would like further guidance on the support for the self employed.

I'm a driving Instructor that is currently still working taking the precautions of cleaning and wiping down my car in between pupils and using hand gel. Due to I cannot afford to stop.

This is a decision that I don't like to make, however I'm not entitled to universal credit and as I'm not I'll i cannot claim SSP (that's according to the government website and no clear indication how i would do this)

What provisions are you going to put in place to help us as even if i could get SSP this is £94.25 a week not enough to live of with a family and some Bill's that we cannot get a 'holiday' from

I find along with many other ADI's and self employed that this is the raw end of the deal considering people who work for a Limited or bigger company get up to 80% of their monthly wages.

I understand it can be quite tricky to work out as everyone gets paid differently and there is not a regular wage set each month and it differs

Why not pay a minimum wage for 40 hours work a week to all self employed, across the board so everyone is equal? It's not as much as your giving to the employed but it's something to help us who are already struggling with this situation and wether to continue working to stop working and ride it out. This in turn will reduce a huge amount of people who are out and about. Leigh Hammans We are a small business and are trying our hardest to keep all our employees (4) on the books whilst going through this crisis – but we don’t have money coming in as most of our work is in the hospitality and events sectors. It seems as though the salary offer is just for when employees are asked not to work – but we want to continue working, even though it’s on background things that aren’t income generating. How are you able to support salaries for us? Anonymous I run a gardening/handyman business, have a mortgage and 4 children in my family. My clients are cancelling work due to the virus. My clients are elderly or cafes or holiday cottages. My income is reducing quickly. I need help just the same as employed people have got please!

Please do more for us self employed as I can not pay my bills on the sick pay you provide. Marie Bruce My Partner and I are both self employed. We have a baby who just turned 1. He is a Music Producer and I am a Make Up Artist. I returned to work 4 weeks after having my baby who was 2 months premature. This is because the hmrc deemed that I wasn't entitled to the Maternity Allowance. In the last 2 years I've paid over £25000 in tax.

My income has dropped to zero, and my boyfriend has managed to retain 16% of his earnings which is soon to drop to zero.

I don't want to defer my mortgage payments as I don't want to rack up more debt when this is over. I don't want to defer my tax payment for next year because of the knock on effect for the following year/s. After this crisis has ended my business will inevitably be in tatters and take a long time to recover. I literally make money from touching people's faces.

I urge you to look at our earnings from the last 2/3 years and pay us an average wage of what we've earnt. I just want to be able to pay our bills and put food on our table without worry. If we were a paye family we would be handed £5k a month (which is excessive for us). Instead we have been offered £700. I doesn't even cover our mortgage payment which is £1080 alone. Stephanie Merritt The treasure urgently needs to address the loss of income suffered by freelance and self-employed people due to the current crisis. The existing provisions to pay 80% of wages to PAYE workers needs to be extended to the self-employed. We pay tax too. Other countries (Norway for example) are providing financial aid equivalent to average of last 3 years’ earnings – a similar process would alleviate much uncertainty for those of us who rely on freelance work.

The three-month mortgage holiday granted to homeowners should also be extended to those who rent. Sharon Plummer I am a self employed Personal Trainer working in the fitness industry.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on. Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Otherwise people will possibly feel like they have no choice but to work when sick, if their industry has not already been decimated by Covid-19. However it will take a long time to come back.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Julie Hobbs As a childminder I am extremely worried about the financial worry that are happening right now.

I will loose the private fees from children who can no longer attend and will struggle to afford to keep my business!

Please please consider us self employed and help us as you are helping those who are employed!

We are important too!!! Mason Walter Cooper I am a self-employed stage manager working in theatre and have done so for the last 3 years.

Like anyone on a PAYE contract, I too pay my taxes, however during these uncertain times someone on a PAYE contract could access around £25,000 of support over a year. Due to being self-employed I potential could only access around £4,800 over the same time period, and that is only if I actually qualify for universal credit in the first place, a process I have already began.

This is deeply unfair and causing mental distress not only to myself but to many of my self-employed colleagues. I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not beneficial in the here and now. If anything this will add additional stress in 2021 with a larger tax bill to pay which for those in the theatre industry, will be just as difficult as January is known as our dark period where many theatres won’t be producing show to rest from the Christmas period.

Self-employed people often have large overheads we have to maintain to keep our businesses ticking over to a time it can start again. We as a collective suggest that the Government should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self-employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self-employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation.

I have copied my local MP for his records as well. Keeli Wallace I am a childminder and have had to close my doors. The 4 families i am able to take as they are keyworkers have either chosen to keep their child at home, are on a rota basis or have chosen to send to school.

I am unable to accept any other children.

I currently earn approx 2100 a month and have 0 coming in apart from 2x 3 year funding children (who i cannot care for) if my LA pay this out which some LA's are not.

I cannot claim business as im not a business, i cannot claim UC or SSP as my husband does work. I am unable to claim anything at all.

I may be forced to go and get a job elsewhere leaving my own 2 children home.

I understand its harder to give to self employed as they all earn different amounts but there must be something we can claim or do. Robert Gill Problem – there isn’t a way to fairly treat all workers outside the PAYE solution or a system to the deliver the money to them quick enough.

Solution – Issue loans Issue loans through Student Finance to the self-employed.

Get the self-employed to do their tax return on 6th April. Make their taxable income a ‘threshold income’ (with a cap at £37.5k - same as employees).

Get the student loan company to issue loans up to 80% of their taxable income, max £30k, payable in monthly instalments, that can be switched off when Covid-19 is under control or when they don’t feel they need it anymore.

Add this as income to the 2020-2021 tax year. If they then, due to also being able to trade through the period, exceed their threshold in 2020-2021, the excess is paid back through their tax return like the SL. If it remains below their, the loan is forgiven.

This is pretty much how the student loan system works. Only a few tweaks required. Rik Worth I saw your post looking for feedback on Twitter. I am a freelance journalist and writer as well as a renter and I feel that there are currently no provisions to help people in my position. I have only been self-employed for a year so my yearly earnings are hard to quantify.

Work is drying up and hard to come by at the best of times, even then the rates are low and payments late. I have been seeking an additional full-time position to maintain my income level but as you can imagine, hiring has dropped off massively.

On top of which, while I appreciate it's difficult, renters have been given no security beyond the promise that landlords will act compassionately. Without any regulation to enforce that, this simply isn't enough. Your asking landlords to put people over profit with no carrot or stick to make sure they choose the right option.

At this point, some universal basic income need to be implemented. It means that renters and freelancers can afford to pay their bills, businesses can go some way to paying their property rents and perhaps those who don't need it, might be more inclined to cover the cost of employees and tenants currently struggling. It's been repeatedly proven that the best way to alleviate poverty is to give those in need of money directly. It's no different in an emergency. If people need to pay rent they'll pay rent. If they need to pay employees, they'll pay employees.

Though I admire what the treasury has done so far, the issue is it's working from the top-down, helping those who are most secure first while leaving those in danger behind, and the overall approach has been the suggestion of good faith in economic morality. It's the hope that years of "greed is good " capitalism will fall away and everyone will look out for another, but without a more dedicated and firm approach, people are going to be left in financial danger. Andrzej Goulding I am writing to make known the need for help for the self-employed of which most of my industry is a member of. I am a set and video designer that works in theatre and have been self-employed my whole life and work contract to contract. Due to government advise all of my shows have closed or postponed their runs meaning there can be no money coming in until we are allowed back to work.

I’m sure this is the same for a lot of “employed” people that have recently been bailed out by the government.

I feel that we have been completely missed out from any financial help in order to get through this unprecedented time. I find it incredible that an employed person earning the same as I was is entitled for up to £30,000 a year in help whereas all we have is access to universal credit which would amount to £4888 a year and that is even if we are eligible (which I would not be and then therefore my wife also wouldn’t be due to the restrictions).

This literally wouldn’t even cover our mortgage, let alone living day to day.

We are not eligible because we have “savings”. However these are not savings, it is money set aside to pay the tax bill that we will owe twice in the financial year which means it’s not really our money in that sense.

So you can see that this logic with universal credit is as completely broken as it is inadequate.

We all pay our taxes the same and our industry contributes literally Billions of pounds to the country every year. Our tax returns prove what our yearly earnings have been so it’s pretty easy to give us the same financial help calculation.

We keep on hearing “We are all in this together”. But not it seems if you are self-employed.

Can we please put right this wrong so that we can all feel secure that we are indeed all in this together and be able to save our creative industries and ensure that we all get through this. Anonymous 1. I write to you with my experience of the economic impact of the corona virus for consideration as evidence for your committee.

2. I am part of the self-employed world as a sole trader, working as a ‘Prop Master’ on TV commercials.

3. The jobs that I’m booked for can last from one day to two weeks, although they generally seem to last from two to four days and I go month to month without work booked in more than two weeks in advance. Quite often I am booked at the last minute and work can go from being scarce to an over- abundance where you’re turning down work. As a Prop Master, it is part of my job to bring a large variety of kit with me, which needs constant topping up, which also a reliable van to transport it all.

4. Work is precarious. To keep on top of things (renting my flat, general living costs, maintaining my van and kit, renting storage etc) means that I need to make a bare minimum of at least £2200 a month. Sometimes I can make double that in a month but at other times work dries up for months at a time and it can be ‘feast or famine’. Consequently, one never likes to turn down work because there’s always the possibility that it’s going to be your last job.

5. I’ve been working in this industry for almost 25 years but 10 days ago jobs began to cancel and I now have no money coming in but all my bills still need to be paid. It looks likely that this situation could last until at least September so I'm facing around £12,000 - 15,000 of debt for this period.

6. It’s obvious that £94.25 of Universal Credit in 5 weeks time won't be anywhere enough for the millions of people like me who help keep the economy ticking over, be it as part of the advertising industry or part of the film and television entertainment industry. We all pay our taxes and NI and have not taken any benefits or sick pay.

7. While I applaud the steps to cover 80% of employed people's salaries, I cannot understand why you would not take the same steps for freelancers, the self-employed and Directors of single person Limited Companies not covered by your previous measures.

8. We are a huge range of people – Prop Masters, Prop Men, graphic designers, cameramen, make up artists, counselors, yoga teachers, musicians. We have no unifying body to shout loudly for us but we all need your Governments financial help right now.

9. As a self-employed sole trader, I think it’s unfair to be forced to take work if offered as I have no other means of support, thus possibly endangering my health and life and the health and lives of others. Putting people into this position poses a very real public health risk as it’s vital to stop the spread of this virus, and by putting us in this position you risk our health and the health of others.

10. It seems a simple question of fairness. Why do the employed get support but the self employed do not? We work incredibly hard and contribute the same if not more to the economy besides the output of our work.

11. We are all part of this society. It’s not just those in the Arts and Entertainment industry, it’s the self-employed electricians, plumbers, decorators etc, in short, anyone who is a freelancer, anybody who operates independently. We’re all involved of this interlocking machine that is so much more than a sum of its parts, and to ignore one part means that you ignore all of it.

12. It might not be easy to find mechanisms to get funds out to the freelancers and self-employed but ignoring this problem will not make it go away. We (the self-employed) all submit accounts and pay tax each year and the HMRC have all our details; indeed, each invoice we send to production companies has to be submitted to them. I would urge Prime Minister Johnson to take the necessary steps to support the self-employed in the same way as the employed and businesses are being supported as we will be a vital part of helping rebuild the economy once we have collectively beaten this terrible pandemic. Mike Davis I understand that the committee is requesting submissions for this enquiry. I am a supply teacher, and I have just finished a temporary contract in a school, working directly with the school. I am due to start a maternity cover after Easter via an agency that I was working with until Christmas. This makes my situation unclear-if it us up to agencies to request that their staff be paid in line with government policy, I suspect that many will not request this. As supply teachers we fill (and are ready and willing to continue filling) a vital role at times like these, and some clarity would be very welcome. Am I going to be paid?

I do appreciate that at this time there are many voices clamouring for attention, and I thank you for the work you are doing. Carly Faiers I am a self employed fitness instructor and Personal Trainer.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

We should consider a Norway style system, where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly income over the past three years.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this devastating situation. Simon Ford I am a leading Executive Producer in the UK documentary film market.

My current credits include making the two biggest rating and most important public service documentary series on respectively BBC1 - the Ambulance series, which I make with Dragonfly Televison - and Channel 4’s 24 Hours in Police Custody which I make with The Garden Productions.

The vast majority of the people who work on my Productions are self employed freelancers - by a rough estimate where we stand in the current Production schedule for both programmes that consists of at least 40 people but it can be many more.

With the absence of direct support both companies have had to end these contracts with either one or two weeks notice, in contrast to the position around their staff members who are protected by the measures already announced.

The failure to come up with a package of measures last Friday for the self employed and freelancers has left the people who work with me and all other freelancers in this sector in acute financial and emotional stress.

There are clearly short term issues which will need to be ameliorated by policy but I worry for the long term health of the sector if the talent we rely on decide that they can’t continue working in this area once the economy and society get back on their feet. This would entrench the damage the virus has wrecked into the long term.

I would like to point you to a round robin letter I have helped construct which is being sent to HM Treasury today. At present it has more than 140 signatories from the leaders across the Independent Television Production sector, I am sure it will amass more signatories but I believe it demonstrates the strength of feeling and the degree of anxiety caused by the absence of measures to reassure last week. Luke Jerdy My fiancee and I are self-employed Actors and we are very concerned about the current lack of provision for the self-employed. My fiancee Daisy has just lost her job as the show she was touring with, 'Beautiful - The Carole King Musical' has been completely cancelled with no chance of a return. This means she has lost out on around £35,000 of wages. Currently she has no money whatsoever coming in whilst this crisis is happening. We both have savings to pay our tax bill so are unable to apply for Universal Credit. We also both own houses so have mortgages and bills to pay. Whilst the mortgage holiday is welcome it still means we are going to be hit financially further down the line.

We have both paid thousands and thousands of pounds in tax over the last ten years since becoming professional Actors. For all this to mean nothing in a time of crisis is utterly devastating. I know many other people in our industry who are in the exact same situation. Art will be the main source of comfort for people to get through this difficult time and ALL of the people who provide this Art are self-employed. Please, please do something to change this. It will make so much difference to the hard-working people in our industry. Give us some hope. Catherine Harkin I am a registered childminder and shut down on Friday by you the government. Despite assurances by you of financial help it would appear that because the help is through universal credit, my household income is taken into consideration, as my husband receives a pension I will receive nothing. This does not seem fair, it does not apply to the employed just the self employed, I also add that I normally work a 55 hour week, more than most I think. Can you please look into this situation and I will end by reminding you that I now have no income because you told me to close. I look forward to hearing back from you. Emily Barker I am writing in response to your call for evidence on the Government's financial response to COVID- 19.

The Government's offer to the self-employed is an insult to millions of hard-working people who contribute so much to society.

As a freelance member of the Art Department in Film and TV I have paid national insurance and taxes for a long period of time. However, I have never been eligible for sick pay. I have never been eligible for unemployment benefit between jobs - because I am classed as 'unavailable for work'.

Many freelance TV and Film workers have already experienced a loss of earnings over January and February, due to the commissioning calendar for television series and film - the new raft of commissions usually translates into productions starting up in March. As was the case for myself.

It is important to include freelancers who do short PAYE contracts and are not officially registered as self-employed. Many of those working in the TV and Film industry is on short term PAYE contracts. The majority of them have already lost their jobs as the industry almost completely shut down within less than 72hrs!

Please also bear in mind that support should not be means-tested; people's hard-earned savings (for a mortgage, pension, maternity, tax payments etc) must not be depleted while permanent PAYE employees on long term contracts are offered 80% of their normal income without being means- tested.

While the majority of the country sit at home watching Netflix, Amazon, Sky etc think of all those that actually made those TV programs and Films. Look at the credits. Almost every single one of those thousands of people (approx. 50,000 in the UK) are currently unemployed as a direct result of COVID-19.

If the government leaves this tranche of workers unprotected, the stress and anxiety people will suffer as a result will become a mental health time bomb.

Thank you for your time in reading this letter. Daniel Flynn Hello I am just writing to say that the measures taken to protect the self employed so far ar NOT in any way adequate My wife and I are both self employed actors/coaches. We had gross earnings last year totalling over£ 88,000. Our income e has dropped overnight to practically Zero. We have no work coming in and no prospect of it in the foreseeable future. We have lost £14,000 in the last 2 weeks through work being cancelled . A lot of my work is in post-production and that will not return now until months after things return to normal. We have a small amount of savings , a proportion of which is tax money to pay our next bills. When that is gone we will have no way of supporting ourselves. If you can pay employed people over this time you MUST work out a way of doing the same for self-employed. It simply isn’t fair not to! And will bring disastrous societal impacts too. We are very much involved in our families and in the community, supporting vulnerable people. Please. Help. Carisse Perks I am currently in work (now working from home) on a fixed term contract until the end of this week. As a freelancer I work in television production. The industry has all but dried up, and usually March / April would be the busiest period and I would expect to find a new job within a couple of weeks. However it is looking unlikely that this will happen now as productions are shutting down and postponing.

I am not in a unique situation, as the whole industry is now facing this situation. As I am a lower grade I am currently PAYE and so will not qualify for the PAYE provisions put in as my contract is due to end, and I am not self-employed so will not qualify for any measures brought in for those people.

While I am able to work from home I have moved back in with my parents who are in their 70s and so it would not be possible to take one of the new jobs in the retail sector without putting them at risk. Annie Morrissey I am a self employed OFSTED outstanding registered childminder, with 2 dependants.

I have had to close my business until further notice, due to under lying health problems as advised. I am therefore letting down 5 families and they’re children, to which 3 families are key workers.

I simply cannot survive without any income. As well as my normal household bills, I also have car tax & insurance to pay over the next two months, without an income, I am unable to do this. Therefore , if I do need to go out for groceries/collect my medicine I am unable to.

I am asking the government to support all Childminder’s including myself, as we may not be able to continue with our businesses once allowed to in the near future Thomas Royal I am a 22 year old self employed actor based in London, who up until the Covid-19 crisis was working in theatre.

Due to the governments current stance on support for working people, I would have to apply for universal credit. Which, if my application was even successful, would grant access to £4,800 of support over a 12 month period. Employees on a PAYE contract would be able to access up to £25,000 over this same timeframe - which, you don't need me to point out, is a lot more than I would be able to access.

The deferement of the July tax bill is some help, and greatly appreciated in this time of economic turmoil, but does not begin to cover the amount needed to survive on in London.

As a freelance actor, my other reliance was the service industry, such as waiting tables or bar work - however due to Pandemic, these areas are also unavailable to me.

Government support of even half of my contracted theatre wages would be an enormous support to me at this time - and would help lower the immense levels of stress that all in our industry have been feeling since Monday 16th March, when the government advised the avoidance of theatres among other social venues.

I look forward to hearing if the Treasury plan on bringing in any more new measure to assist the 5 million self employed working in the UK today.

I hope you and your family stay healthy and safe throughout the duration of this pandemic. Kerry Smith I am writing not only on my behalf, but on behalf of all self employed and freelance hard workers who contribute massively to our economy whilst working from home and in the community, without a business premises. There are millions of us in this situation in the UK and I am one small fish in a very large pond.

Like all other workers in my position, I have been glued to the press conferences every day, waiting to hear how the government will support me and my business through this pandemic, and so far, at 6pm every day I am so very disappointed that we are a group of workers who are being completely missed out of any support whatsoever.

I am a cake artist who works from home. I don't have a shop or a business address from which I can be eligible or exempt from Small Business Rates, this leaves my business out of the grants being offered. My husband earns just over the earning threshold for Universal Credit, which means that I do not qualify for the new support equal to SSP being offered through Universal Credit. Last year, my business did not earn enough to pay tax or have tax due in July to be deferred until January. I do appreciate that I am permitted to apply for a loan, but debt is not what I need right now and debt will undoubtedly close my business down.

The tax year of 2019-2020 was set to be my best year in business. I was pretty much fully booked from mid March to the end of September with wedding and celebration cakes, which over this period alone would have generated a turnover of around £17,000. I am currently in the position of having all orders cancelled for the foreseeable future and facing no income whatsoever until our essential lockdown is over. As a family, we rely on my income to pay bills and buy food.

If I worked in a PAYE job earning £30,000 per year, I understand that I would be entitled to support currently of 80% of my income, totalling £24,000, irrespective of what my husband earns. Because I work self employed from home, I am entitled to nothing at all?

As I say, my story is the same as millions of other self employed workers who seem to have fallen within a grey and forgotten area and our businesses are highly likely to fail as a result and we will be forced into huge debt with the prospect of any employment being highly unlikely in the current climate.

Are you please able to reassure me that there will be some financial support forthcoming for me and the millions of other hard working individuals in our country in my situation?

Thank you for your assistance and I hope you are able to be the voice of me and the thousands of other sole traders in your constituency who are currently facing extremely dire and unexpected financial circumstances. Donnacadh O'Briain I would like the treasury to note that as a freelancer, I earn a little above the average uk salary, and have done for several years.

Like employed workers with salaries, I also have commitments which are based on this income. I have a london mortgage and three children.

Unlike many employed workers I have lost all of my work in the next few months, with little chance of replacing it. This will leaves me unable to manage basic outgoings, and with a very large debt or bankruptcy by the end of this year, followed by a large in payable tax bill. I appeal to the government to support self employed workers, whose need are very similar to employed workers and who wish to come out of this crisis as viable businesses.

We pay in, as employed workers do, and it is reckless of the government to allow so many SE/sole traders to fail, and for their families to be taken into to poverty. Hannah Young Firstly, please let me congratulate you on an immense offering to the country as a whole. What you are offering to employees is a true testament to how seriously the government is taking this situation and no doubt will play a substantial part in allowing people to take the right steps in order to slow the spread of this disease.

While I appreciate the majority of the country is employed. There is a big community of us who are not and find ourselves lost in this crisis with what seems like a very token gesture. As a group who pay their taxes and contributions to the economy, just as everyone else does it seems amiss that we are not considered for full critical financial support.

Personally, I am self-employed, admittedly by my own Limited Company, and have just gone from a substantial monthly income, with expenses to match, down to zero. Not a single penny of income is likely to be received for the foreseeable future dur to the loss of both of my contracts providing a service as a Dental Hygienist.. As I am sure you can appreciate this leaves me in an extremely vulnerable and worrying position. I have rent to pay, and no luxury that has been afforded to landlords of mortgage holidays. In addition I have other expenses that are non-negotiable at this time in addition to funds required to live.

While I appreciate this is a rapidly progressing and evolving situation, please consider the self- employed population in your financial offerings amidst this crisis, we need the support just as much as everyone else. In addition to this I would urge you to action relief for rental tenants as well as considering further negotiations with banks and essential services to provide better support. Including protecting personal credit ratings if payment breaks are required. Stephanie Ronan-Chlond I expect you are receiving a lot of correspondence from freelancers (self-employed *and* PAYE). I don’t want to repeat what they are putting forward but need to highlight another issue for consideration.

I am a freelance documentary television producer and have been working in the industry for 10 years. 2018-2019 I took around 12 months maternity leave (not funded by any employer). I have been back at work for 6 months and now left without work due to the coronavirus. My next job has been cancelled because of this.

I am concerned that if there is a new agreement for freelancers (I.e. 80% of average salary for the 3 past years), my year of caring for my new born son will negatively skew by usual earnings and what I’m entitled to.

Please consider this situation there will be many other women in the same boat. Sue Atkinson I have been an Ofsted registered childminder for 20yrs, gaining 3 Ofsted Outstanding grades. I have put blood, sweat and tears( all of that literally) into building a good business providing a very high standard of care for families. I have delivered this care to over 70 children and for some families, there have been 2 or 3 children, meaning i have cared for that family for 14 or 15 yrs.

I have jumped through so many hoops and ran to the goalposts when they have been moved yet again, i could be an Olympic athlete.

I have cared for the children of teachers, police officers, NHS staff and many others to keep the country running.

Now, when it is not safe to carry on, childminders are being forgotten. We can't charge families to retain their space when they have no income- because we care about these families. However, we have bills to pay and families of our own to feed, so we may have to close our businesses.

When this is all over and the government need everyone to go back to work to rebuild our country, who will care for the children, because it may be that there will not be many childminders around.

We have been told time and again that the government values the Early Years workers, that it is a vital time in a child's life. Now it is time to prove that by helping us survive this and treating us like the employed who have been furloughed.

Childminders are not the only ones. Several of the parents that i provide care for are self-employed- plumbers, electricians, driving instructors- vital skills that will be sorely needed Casey Reece I have seen the tweet regarding thoughts on the financial response.

I can see effort has been put in to help some people which is commendable.

However, businesses like mine...

(I run childrens classes in the community and school) which does not have a building as I work in community centres and school buildings as a contractor means I am only entitled to universal credit!

That a big loss for me each month.

Classes started to be cancelled 3 weeks ago so I'm already behind with payments.

This is incredibly stressful, offering classes online is tough because everyone is being financially careful and not wanting to spend anything (understandably).

Universal credit doesn't touch my bills! This could go on for months, then when it is over I still then have to build up business, with schools and communities who will still be financially recovering which means my business will see a loss for a while.

Delaying our tax bill is just not enough.

What are we supposed to do?

There are lots of us sole traders who are facing these challenging times. We are just on our own.

I have a family too! I have Bill's that need paying and the long term damaging effect on my business that my insurance just does not cover. Right now I have applied to UC but who knows if that's even been approved as the lines are too busy. Fiona Mills As a full time self-employed photographer based in West Sussex, primarily shooting weddings/families and events, I have lost all of my immediate scheduled work for the foreseeable future with already-booked clients for the year ahead in a state of uncertainty and confusion over whether to re-schedule their plans. Some of this may be suitably re-booked for future months/years, but this is not a guarantee.

I am paid for the jobs I do as I do them, so I work very hard to create a diary that enables a regular cash flow to cope with my regular household and business costs. I am also a widowed mother of two managing my own mortgage and bills as a solo earner.

As of today I have applied for Universal Credit (my bereavement allowance ceases in June 2020), but this will not provide anywhere near the income I would usually be generating on a monthly basis to provide for my family. I continue to work on the many other tasks required as a business owner (accounts/marketing/development/editing/admin etc) but am unable to procure paid work due to the social distancing and isolation measures which are currently in place, and rightly so.

I wanted to email you today to bring to the attention of the treasury department the situation I, amongst other self employed individuals) am in to request more financial support for us than something close to SSP. The equivalent of SSP will not keep us afloat during these difficult times.

I can imagine this is an exceptionally challenging and fast moving time for you all in parliament as you deal with brand new and continuing issues/circumstances that have taken effect since this pandemic, and I thank you in advance for the consideration you are showing to all the individuals in our national community. I hope that as discussions and developments continue more steps are taken to ensure the survival of those running their own small businesses in this time. Stuart Livingstone 1. I write to you with my experience of the economic impact of the corona virus for consideration as evidence for your committee.

2. I am part of the self-employed world as the sole employee of my Ltd Company. I work as a Prop man within TV and Film. I am one of the many people that dress the sets prior to during anf after filming.

3. I need a lot of expensive up to date equipment which I buy as the job requires. With the amount of equipment and tools that I carry I run a a large vehicle to transport it all to work.

4. My monthly outgoings are in excess of £3000 for me to run my business as the Director and sole employee of my Limited company. Some months I earn double my outgoings and sometimes I don't earn anything for months.

5. I was currently working on a production which has been put on hold until further notice. I now have no income and yet all my outgoings continue. This will remain I would imagine until September in the best case. I'm looking at around £20,000 of debt across that period.

6. Clearly, £94.25 of Universal Credit in 5 weeks time won't cut it for the millions of people like me who, even when things are going well, live hand to mouth each month to keep the nation entertained or informed. We all pay our taxes and NI and have not taken any benefits or sick pay. 7. I applaud the steps to cover 80% of employed people's salaries but cannot understand why you would not take the same steps for freelancers, the self-employed and Directors of single person Limited Companies not covered by your previous measures.

8. We are a huge range of people; graphic designers, cameramen, make up artists, counsellors, yoga teachers, musicians. We have no unifying body to shout loudly for us but we all need your Governments financial help right now.

9. For me personally I am worried sick about my finances even before I can consider the health concerns. Putting people into this position poses a public health risk if they can work to get money in for their families and spread the virus as a result.

11. The next time you want to watch a film, a TV program, read a newspaper, go to the theatre, use an interesting website or listen to your favourite music - imagine if you couldn’t because freelancers hadn’t survived so those things didn’t exist.

12. It might be harder to find mechanisms to get funds out to the freelancers and self employed but we all submit accounts and pay tax each year. HMRC have our details. I would urge Boris to do 'Whatever it takes' and 'Level up' as a matter of priority. Nigel Braithwaite I’m a self employed and disabled part time freelance musician and music teacher My health conditions mean that I am vulnerable to Covid-19 so seeking other work os not an option. My wife is a full time freelance musician with a previously packed engagement diary. Between us we have already lost over £4,000 in cancelled work.

My thoughts for your consultation

£94 a week is not enough

Why are our savings set aside to pay tax being treated as ordinary saving?

We need the equivalent help that is being offered to salaried employees HMRC know exactly what we have earned in previous years - saying that organising help for the self-employed is “operationally complex” is an unacceptable reason for not so doing.

Please take full note of the careful and expert advice and briefing from the Musicians’ Union

Offer grants to enable people like us to set up what we need to work from home. An example would be high quality audio and video recording equipment that can also be used live Anonymous Please find a way to support the self-employed. We pay our taxes just like everyone else. We cannot use our 'holiday pay' to help get us through this and we do not have sick pay!

I am a self-employed Illustrator, I work full time, until this year earning on average around 36k per year before tax. Work had already notably slowed during Brexit uncertainty and now since the outbreak of Coronavirus current projects have stalled and commissions for new work have completely ceased. I work for companies across the private sector retail, advertising and publishing, but most are small to medium businesses very unlikely to invest in campaigns or developing new products at this time, or some time to come.

My secondary revenue stream in the form of royalty payments for sales of greeting cards in shops has also been hit. I have already been informed by one customer they are unable to pay my invoice due to the impact the outbreak has had on their cashflow. This alone slashes the anticipated income this month by more than half. As it stands next month I will have no income at all. Paul Cawley I am a self employed actor who has been working in theatre and recorded media for the last thirty five years.

When not working in these areas I work on a freelance basis in the HE and FE sector, and also as a drama coach. In addition, I am one of the Equity Careers Advisors. All of my revenue streams have been closed down in the last seven days with no possibility of any of them being available to me to work in for the foreseeable future. I have lost work totalling over £3,500.00 for the next quarter, with no recourse to any recompense.

I am the sole carer for my 88 year old mother, who has complex medical needs, and who lives with me. As such, finding another job that would not compromise her immunity is proving impossible.

This is deeply unfair to self employed workers.

I appreciate the deferment of the July tax bill, but this is not even close to enough to be able to survive on, and all it does is push this down the line for six months, when it could prove to be an ever bigger problem.

Self employed people often have large overheads they have to maintain to keep their business ticking over to a time they can start it again.

Today, it is being reported in The Stage that many freelance and self employed workers in our industry will face bankruptcy in the next twelve months. I am not convinced that it will take that long.

We should consider a system where the government give grants to the self employed that equate to 80% of their average yearly turnover over the past three years.

Please reconsider this exclusion, and help the self employed to be able to come back from this terrifying situation. Nadia Essex Please help the self Employed. I am self employed and had a baby 2 weeks ago. I had planned to take a month off work and had enough money put aside and or due on invoice to cover me for that time.

I have had every contract cancel moving forward AND over £2000 of payments due this week not pay and unlikely to, as companies are struggling and simply don’t have the money to pay me for work I have already done.

I am running low on supplies (formula is now sold out online and in all my local stores) and low on finances. Bills start coming out from the 1st and as it stands I can’t pay most of them.

Also PLEASE put pressure on banks to put overdraft fees on holiday or defer. The £30 a month I pay would make a huge difference to my living and equates to a weekly food shop for me and my baby.

Please help on these points. Ethne Tooby The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme excludes many workers, including the self-employed, 1 & 2 director Ltd Companies, gig economy workers and, potentially, those on zero-hour contracts.

There are 6 million self-employed workers in the UK, across all industries many of whom are already experiencing the economic impact of the outbreak. This can be devastating, particularly in cases where all or significant streams of income have immediately stopped.

The discrepancy between the support for employees and other workers is significant and arbitrary: all workers should be treated equally.

Universal Credit excludes many workers – including those with tax bills that exceed the savings threshold – so support should be made available through another mechanism. It also disallows support to de facto self-employed individuals who are in a domestic partnership on the basis of their partners earnings: this is not a caveat of Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for PAYE workers.

Given the scale and gravity of the situation for many workers, it’s imperative that immediate action is taken: not in a week or a month, but today.

Please consider supporting all workers by pressuring the government to review this policy as soon as possible. Kat Franklin Although I agree that the packages have been helpful, as a member of the motorsports community we are classed as leisure and hospitality business. Many of us have small businesses in large venues, as we need a lot of space. Unfortunately means we have higher rateable values compared to other companies our size. Out of 130+ member of the National Karting Association, only a minimal number have a rateable value at or below £51k – meaning they/we are unable to access the grants and other relief provided for small businesses – we believe that looking at turn over, and staffing cost would be a better alternative for many of our members.

There has so far been no provision for companies that are now facing having to refund monies for events they no longer have, many of us have asked customers to reschedule, but this is not always an option. With no end in sight, it is hard to ask people to let you hold on their money for an indefinite period, support for this has been put in place for the rail industry but not the leisure and hospitality industry.

I have a refund liability of £160k at present, with this figure increasing as we get further through spring and into summer with 40 significant events cancelling by the end of May, if we cannot run in June/July and August we will not make it through the winter, our income structure means we take money during the summer months for the current year and the following summer to see us through the winter.

We have a monthly liability of £60K including wages, we are doing our best to cut these cost but it will all to be paid for eventually.

Commercial Rent

Whilst there has been direction to residential landlords about not evicting residents there has been no such directive for commercial landlords, While a handful of centres have secured a payment holiday over 80% have not been able to. As you will see below we are unable to access grant funding currently either and rent is a key issue for the industry.

Insurance

The Business interruption insurance cover we have does not cover us as we have not been shut down as a Covid incident linked directly to our premises. The burden if this needs to be shares but insurers are not stepping up. They are unwilling to offer payment holidays and even though centres will have less risk due to being closed to the public and employees they are unwilling to reduce the cost of insurance during this time. Insurance is one of the highest expenditures a circuit has after rent and rates and pressure needs to be put on them to support the leisure industry at this time.

Grant cap at 51k rateable value

Most of the industry, alongside trampoline parks, soft play etc occupy large scale premises and therefore sit above the cap for accessing any form of grants. This needs to be extended to all leisure industries. We are being penalized for the size of our premises. We have large fixed overheads and are in just as much need if not more need of grant support than smaller businesses. As has been previously highlighted 90% of centres cannot access any grants.

Cost of perishable stock

With the timescale that this has been implemented centres had no time to reduce perishable stock and as such are faced with losses in relation to this of up to 5k per centre. If and when we reopen this will need to be replaced.

Unavoidable outgoings Whilst centres have cancelled any unnecessary outgoings, there remains a core that cannot be cancelled. 80% of centres surveyed over the weekend had unavoidable liabilities of over 10k, 25% of these are over 20 k, with one circuits liabilities being 60k/ month. Key ones highlighted in the survey are Utilities, security,Communications, insurance and leased items as well as pre existing loans.

0 hour contracts

It is unclear whether the staff on zero hour contracts are included in the wage support. Due to the nature of what we do there are a lot of staff in this category. John Findlay As a tradesman serving, among others, the elderly I am in the unfortunate position of having potentially a LOT of work but acting responsibly I must turn down a large proportion of it as I cannot be certain that I will not infect my clients and potentially kill them. This is having a severely detrimental effect on my business as is the uncertainty of allowing a stranger into your home to perform work in these times. I have been hit with a double whammy which is impinging hugely on my earnings. I have now heard that the first minister – Scotland – is calling on all establishments to close other than those selling food or pharmaceutical products. How can I obtain materials to allow me to carry out what work there is? I am potentially spreading this infection through travelling to various jobs and merchants – this is a situation which should not be happening - more financial support to allow me to stay at home and remove the risk of infection is vital. Lynn Taylor I am a self employed childminder, I am three times outstanding with OFSTED and have worked as a childminder for nearly 22 years.

Whilst I appreciate why you have closed schools and nurseries (many people all on one site) I was shocked when you also closed all childminders. We had been following the news and in Ireland childminders had been allowed to stay open despite school and nursery closures. We are self employed and work from home on a relatively small scale. So none of us even imagined we would come under these measures.

We were told we had to close our business as Friday 20th March

Then we were told we could remain open but only for key workers.

I have had to explain to sobbing parents how I can not accept their child but I can accept the child of another parent. I have had parents give me notice because I am not allowed to care for their child and none of us know how long this will go on for, so they cannot afford to pay me indefinite for no care especially after their own business has just closed.

Some of us have lost our whole businesses overnight. With some childminders loosing every single child. Some will not be able to afford to wait and rejoin the sector when this is all over, there are bills to be paid now and our own children need feeding. Others have lost some children or only remain open for one or two, with all the overheads but not much to pay for it. Those of us who remain open for key worker children are on a very minimal wage compared to before.

It appears we are entitled to apply for universal credit but the vast majority of us do not qualify as we have a partner earning over the threshold. One childminder I spoke had tried to apply and was entitled to 35 pence a week. Childminder Prices vary area to area but I am about average and looking after 3 pre school children earn approx £525 per week (this does not include school holiday Children) I do not do before and after school care but others do which changes their income again. So using me as an example I earn approx £2100 over a 4 week period, if I apply to universal credit I am entitled to nothing because of my partners wage. This is not fair. I have worked for 22 years in this sector, Paid my tax and national insurance in dutifully but now because you say I have to close I loose my entire income overnight with no recompense? Just because my husband earns over your universal credit threshold does not mean I should not be entitled to the same kind of help as employed people. You are giving them 80% of their income. You are not asking what their partner earns. This is not fair. If you had not closed my business to normal parents I would still be working, I would not be asking for your help.

So I implore you to look at my sector. There are over 40 thousand self employed childminders just like me. We support the economy enabling parents to go to work. Some of us are enabling key workers to work right now, on vastly lower incomes but we are doing it because we love the children, want to support our key workers and want to help fight this pandemic, but we also need your help. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET US!!

Childminders are an integral part of the childcare sector. We have to follow the EYFS and be inspected by OFSTED just like the rest of our sector. If you ignore us we cannot guarantee we will financially survive this and be there for children and their parents on the other side of this crisis.

PLEASE HEAR US David Hennig I am writing to voice concern about the lack of financial support offered to freelance/self employed. Various problems have been offered by the government regarding how payment may be made. HMRC have all the details/proof of payment,necessary to calculate or help with any support. Whether the payment be a mix of money paid and monies deducted from future tax payments, may I remind you that the longer the situation continues tax payments in January for this years earnings will be almost impossible too.

Please use all information, details and options open to you.

My particular trade, theatre, has completely shut down worldwide. Almost overnight all income has ceased. Anna Mackie-East As a solo director of a Ltd company I am really concerned that the chancellor and the prime minister think that they are done with helping workers. I have written many times to many mps and was hopeful last Thursdays announcement would finally provide some relief but as you know now I'm sure there are so many holes in the help offered.

Have we now been dismissed? I am desperate to work, my mental health relies on me hoping work will come and that I can earn an income for myself. But my industry has completely stopped. It will not start again until Covid-19 allows us to go back to normality. I am not eligible for UC, nor for any of the schemes put in place so far. I need support as do others in my position and we really feel forgotten.

Please keep fighting for people like me who have had their livelihood ripped away and have been made to feel as if we have done something wrong. Spencer Doane Please give all people in the country the same right to an income at this time. It is absurd that the government is selecting one thing for employees and another for self employed.

I suggest everyone working age receives a standard amount, could not be more simple and more fair....