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Leaders Column - Cllr Brenda Warrington writes about self employed support

In her latest column for the Tameside Reporter council leader Cllr Brenda Warrington writes about support available for self-employed workers during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

This week I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to express my concern about the support available for self-employed workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tameside is home to almost 13,200 residents who are self-employed. The government has rightly taken unprecedented steps to safeguard 80 per cent of wages up to £2,500 per month for these workers during the current emergency. However, I believe that there are some gaps that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

It’s been confirmed that applicants to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will likely not receive their first payment until June, over two months away. 

This means that many self-employed residents are continuing to face the prospect of a significant period with reduced income, or perhaps even no income at all.

I know that as a council we have already had requests for financial support from self-employed residents. 

Worse still, there exists the possibility that some may feel compelled by sheer desperation to break the current guidelines on social distancing and continue working, thus running the risk of infection or passing infection on to others.

It is true that self-employed workers are now entitled to access Universal Credit in full. However, there are a number of issues with this benefit, in particular the mandatory five week wait for payment. 

While this predates the coronavirus pandemic, it has become a more glaring hole in our welfare provision now that many more people will be relying on these payments to meet ends meet for several months.

The Prime Minister himself said at the beginning of this crisis that no UK citizen should be financially penalised for doing the right thing. 

Therefore, in my letter to the Chancellor, I have requested that he takes immediate action to further support self-employed workers, including eliminating the five week wait for Universal Credit, making the Universal Credit payments themselves more generous and bringing forward the date for the opening of the self-employed income support scheme with all possible haste. 

I believe these measures are absolutely necessary to offer security to tens of thousands of self-employed in Tameside, not to mention the millions across the rest of the UK.

Tameside stands ready to do its part to fight the coronavirus pandemic. I trust that the government will take the appropriate steps to provide leadership and support our vital self-employed workers in the days, weeks and perhaps even months ahead.

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