Mims Davies corrected a written answer on Self-employed: Coronavirus

15 April 2020 · Commons written answer · Department for Work and Pensions

Thangam Debbonaire (Labour, Bristol West) asked written question 30148 on 16 March 2020. Mims Davies answered on 25 March 2020 for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Mims Davies corrected the answer on 15 April 2020. The corrected text adds the figure £2,500, which the original did not give. Altogether 192 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to introduce benefits for self-employed people whose work is reduced because of the covid-19 outbreak.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
~~As both~~ the ~~Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,~~ the Government ~~will do whatever it takes~~ to ~~support people~~ affected by ~~COVID 19~~ and ~~we have been clear in our intention that no one should~~ be ~~penalised~~ for ~~doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.~~	The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment. The scheme brings parity with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, whereby the Government committed to pay up to £2,500 each month in wages of employed workers who are furloughed during the outbreak. We have temporarily relaxed the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate and those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8 - without the need for a face-to-face assessment.

Original

Corrected

~~As both~~ the ~~Prime Minister and Chancellor have made clear,~~ the Government ~~will do whatever it takes~~ to ~~support people~~ affected by ~~COVID 19~~ and ~~we have been clear in our intention that no one should~~ be ~~penalised~~ for ~~doing the right thing. These are rapidly developing circumstances, we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.~~

The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.
The scheme brings parity with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, whereby the Government committed to pay up to £2,500 each month in wages of employed workers who are furloughed during the outbreak.
We have temporarily relaxed the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate and those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8 - without the need for a face-to-face assessment.

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/1185490?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`95ec9e963d46a197cbb43d8fd14f48739e0826d36064b403383b4ebe32814fa4`