More will gain access to budget grants for self-employed

More than 200,000 self-employed people could qualify for income support grants, on top of the newly self-employed, after new help in the budget.

The Treasury has said that extending the self-employment income support scheme to people who submitted tax returns for 2019-20 would benefit about 600,000 people, a group identified in reports after the budget as the newly self-employed. The Times understands that fewer than two thirds are newly self-employed and that others also will qualify for the support scheme.