New financial support for the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak has been announced by the UK Government. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) - who spearheaded calls for additional help for those that work for themselves - warmly welcomed the proposals.
Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chair, said: “Thousands of people who work for themselves in Scotland will now breathe a sigh of relief. This scheme will provide lifeline cash to self-employed people, with help targeted at those on low and moderate incomes.
“We need to vanquish the myth that those that work for themselves are universally wealthy. People like the local handyman, cleaner and fitness coach will benefit from this support.
“Like many of these government interventions, it will take a number of weeks for this programme to deliver. Therefore, those who qualify should try their banks for interim finance if required, while doing what they can to manage their outgoings. This will be much easier said than done, but with help on its way many of the self-employed will rest a little easier.”
Official figures show that there are 320,000+ self-employed people in Scotland.
Andrew McRae said: “Throughout this crisis, we’ve found Ministers in Edinburgh and London sympathetic and approachable. These governments deserve credit for delivering support to business who face difficult circumstances that are neither under their control nor their fault.”
- FSB has been used social media to make the case for additional support for the self-employed.
- Self-employment figures can be found in table 1.11 in this official statistical publication found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/regional-employment-patterns-scotland-statistics-annual-population-survey-2018/pages/2/
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