Official Statistics

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics: December 2021

Published 16 December 2021

Overview

This publication covers all 5 grants for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Data used is up to 28 October 2021. The information presented includes:

• age of claimants
• gender of claimants
• sector of self-employment activity
• geography
• claim and income bands

This release is classified as Experimental Statistics as the methodologies used to produce the statistics are still in their development phase. As a result, the data are subject to revision. These statistics have been produced quickly in response to developing world events.

The Office for Statistics Regulation, on behalf of the UK Statistics Authority, has reviewed them against several key aspects of the Code of Practice for Statistics and regards them as consistent with the Code’s pillars of Trustworthiness, Quality and Value.

Contact details

For queries or feedback on this publication, please email:

• S Chelley
• M Qasim
• C Herwig
• W Jones
• I Sleney

For press queries, please contact HMRC Press Office:

• J Gillespie
• W Lyon

Main findings

• £28.1 billion has been paid in grants in total (up to 28 October 2021). Across the 5 grants, 2.9 million individuals have received a grant and 10.4 million total grants have been claimed
• Of the 2.9 million individuals that claimed at least one grant, 1 million individuals claimed all 5 grants. 1.6 million individuals claimed each of the first 4 grants
• 7.4 million claims (71%) have been made by 2.0 million male claimants (71%) worth £21.6 billion (77%) across the 5 grants. 3.0 million claims (29%) have been made by 0.9 million female claimants (29%) with a total value of £6.5 billion (23%) across the 5 grants
• Over 0.7 million individuals (25%) aged between 45 and 54 made 2.7 million claims (26%) worth £7.3 billion (26%). This is the age group with the largest number of claims but is only slightly higher than individuals aged 35 to 44, and individuals aged 55 to 64
• Take-up rate across each grant has been lowest for individuals aged 65 and over, however they have the highest average value of claims at £3,100 per claim compared to £2,700 per claim for the whole population
• The average value per claim for the first grant was £2,900 and this was the highest of all 5 grants. The average claim for the third and fourth grant was £2,800. The first, third and fourth grants all offered grants worth 80% of average trading profits
• The average value per claim for the second and fifth grants was £2,500 and £2,300, respectively. The second grant was worth 70% of average trading profits. For the fifth grant, individuals could claim either 80% or 30% of 3 months’ average trading profits. The size of the grant was determined by comparing turnover from the pandemic year with turnover from either the 2019 to 2020 or the 2018 to 2019 tax year, known as the reference year. 29% of fifth grant claims were for the lower grant amount. This explains why the second and fifth grant average claim values were lower than the other grants
• Take-up rates dropped from 77% for the first grant to 58% for the fourth grant. The fourth grant allowed some individuals that were previously ineligible to claim for the first time. However, this group had a significantly lower take-up rate than the rest of the population. The take-up rate for the fifth grant dropped to 38%
• The 2 regions with the largest number of claims were London and South East, where 1.0 million individuals claimed 3.6 million grants worth £10.2 billion, reflecting the size of their populations. These 2 regions represent 35% of the total number of claims across the 5 grants. Northern Ireland had the highest regional take-up rate (82%) for the first grant, but the lowest regional take-up rate (32%) for the fifth grant, alongside Wales
• The sector with the highest number of claims overall is the construction industry, with just under 1.0 million individuals making 3.5 million claims worth £11.5 billion. This represents around 34% of the total number of claims across the 5 grants
• The largest group (industrial sub-sector) by number of claims is ‘construction of residential and non-residential buildings’, with over 1.7 million claims by 470,000 individuals worth £5.5 billion across the 5 grants. Over 400,000 individuals who have made nearly 1.5 million claims cannot be matched to a sector
• 42% of claimants for the fifth grant reported that their turnover had fallen by 50% or more between their reference year and the pandemic year, making 529,000 claims worth £1.4 billion. 11% of claimants reported an increase or no change in turnover, claiming 140,000 grants worth £140 million. Overall, around 365,000 (29%) fifth grant claims are for the 30% grant and nearly 900,000 (71%) claims are for the 80% grant

About this release

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) provided support for self-employed individuals whose business had been affected by coronavirus (COVID-19). Applications for the first grant opened 13 May 2020 and applications for the fifth and final grant closed 30 September 2021. Data used is up to 28 October 2021.

The first grant was open for claims from 13 May 2020 to 13 July 2020 for individuals who had been impacted by Coronavirus. The second grant could be claimed from 17 August 2020 to 19 October 2020. The third grant was open for claims between 30 November 2020 and 29 January 2021. Businesses had to be impacted by coronavirus between 1 November 2020 and 29 January 2021 to claim this grant.

The fourth grant opened for claims on 22 April 2021 and run to 30 May 2021. Businesses had to be impacted by coronavirus between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021 in order to claim the grant. The fifth grant could be claimed between 29 July 2021 and 30 September 2021 by those who had been impacted by coronavirus between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021.

The data used in this release covers those self-employed individuals that claimed at least one of the 5 grants. This data has been matched with other HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data to present breakdowns of claims by:

• age and gender
• industrial sector of the economy
• geography
• claim and income bands

Further information on each of the 5 grants can be found in the Background to the SEISS section.

The tables that accompany this publication can also be accessed on HMRC coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics page on gov.uk.

1. Total SEISS grant claims

2.9 million individuals have claimed at least one of the 5 grants. In total, £28.1 billion has been claimed across 10.4 million total claims. Figure 1 shows the number of claims and the number of individuals that claimed a grant.

Figure 1: Number of claims and number of individuals that claimed a SEISS grant

Table 1: Number and value of claims, and number of individuals claiming each grant¹²

Grant	Total no. of claims (000s)	Total value of claims (£m)	Average value of claims (£)	Take-up rate
First grant	2,610	7,591	2,900	77%
Second grant	2,351	5,931	2,500	69%
Third grant	2,194	6,219	2,800	65%
Fourth grant	1,958	5,518	2,800	58%
Fifth grant	1,262	2,846	2,300	38%
All grants	10,374	28,105	2,700	-
Total number of individuals	2,897	28,105	9,700	-

Notes:

1. The lower average claim for the second grant is largely a result of grants being paid out at 70% of an individual’s 3 months’ average trading profits, rather than 80% as for the first, third and fourth grants
2. The fifth grant also has a lower average claim due to some claimants receiving the 30% lower grant instead of the 80% higher grant

Around 5 million individuals reported income from self-employment for the tax year 2018 to 2019, and had their data assessed for potential eligibility for the first 3 grants. This led to 7.2 million claims by 2.7 million individuals for the first 3 grants with a total value of £19.7 billion.

Eligibility for the first 3 grants required an individual to have levels of income which met specific tests on:

• their 2018 to 2019 tax year income
• the combination of income for consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019 where available

Additional eligibility guidance was introduced for the third grant. To be eligible an individual must have been eligible for the first 2 grants and declare that they intended to continue to trade and either:

• were actively trading but impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
• were previously trading but were temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus

For both the fourth and fifth grants, there were 3.2 million claims by 2.0 million individuals with a total value of £8.4 billion.

Eligibility for the fourth and fifth grants was based on a customer’s tax returns for either:

• the 2019 to 2020 tax year income
• an average of the consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020 if a customer was not eligible based on 2019 to 2020 alone

With 2019 to 2020 tax returns assessed for the first time, some individuals could claim a grant that were previously unable to do so. These individuals were described as either:

• previously ineligible, meaning they were assessed for the third grant, but did not meet the criteria for eligibility, for example because their trading profit was less than their non-trading income
• newly self-employed, meaning they traded for the first time in 2019 to 2020 and did not trade in any of 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018 or 2018 to 2019

Around 500,000 people were brought into scope who either became self-employed in tax year 2019 to 2020; or were ineligible for previous grants but became potentially eligible for the fourth and fifth grants based on having submitted their 2019 to 2020 tax return.

The take-up rates for the fourth and fifth grants among individuals who were newly self-employed or previously ineligible for the third grant is lower than the full population.

To claim the fifth grant, individuals had to compare their pandemic year turnover with that from tax year 2019 to 2020 or tax year 2018 to 2019, their reference year. If turnover in the pandemic year decreased by 30% or more compared to the reference year, the higher 80% grant could be claimed. Otherwise, individuals were eligible for the lower 30% grant. Newly self-employed individuals were exempt from the turnover test and were able to claim the higher grant.

Of the 1.3 million individuals who made a successful claim:

• 29% received the lower grant, with an average claim of £1,100
• 71% received the higher grant, with an average claim of £2,700

2. SEISS grants by gender

Figure 2 and Table 2 shows the number of claims and the number of individuals that claim for each grant by gender. Table 3 shows claim values by gender.

Of 2.9 million individuals that claimed one or more grant, male claimants make up around 71% and make up the same proportion (71%) of the total number of claims.

HMRC received 7.4 million claims from male claimants totalling £21.6 billion compared to 3.0 million claims from female claimants for £6.5 billion. Male claimants had higher take-up rates than female claimants across all grants and the average value of all claims made across all 5 grants by male claimants (£2,900) was higher than the average for female claimants (£2,100).

Figure 2: Number of claims and number of individuals that made a claim for each grant up, by gender

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Table 2: Number of claims for each grant, by gender

Gender	Number of individuals (000s)	First grant (000s)	Second grant (000s)	Third grant (000s)	Fourth grant (000s)	Fifth grant (000s)
Male	2,044	1,847	1,666	1,560	1,381	900
Female	852	762	685	633	577	361
All	2,897	2,610	2,351	2,194	1,958	1,262

Table 3: Value of claims for each grant, by gender

Gender	First grant (£m)	Second grant (£m)	Third grant (£m)	Fourth grant (£m)	Fifth grant (£m)
Male	5,848	4,567	4,810	4,235	2,151
Female	1,740	1,362	1,407	1,282	695
All	7,591	5,931	6,219	5,518	2,846

Figure 3: Take-up rates for each grant, by gender

Table 4: Take-up rate for each grant, by gender

Gender	First grant take-up rate	Second grant take-up rate	Third grant take-up rate	Fourth grant take-up rate	Fifth grant take-up rate
Male	79%	72%	68%	60%	40%
Female	71%	64%	60%	54%	34%
All	77%	69%	65%	58%	38%

3. SEISS grants by age group

Figure 4 and Table 5 show the number of claims and the number of individuals that made claims across all 5 grants by age group. Table 6 shows claim values by age group.

Around 89% of individuals who claimed grants were between the ages of 25 and 64, with 91% of the value of claims coming this age group. Take-up of the grant in these age-groups was at or above 77% for the first grant and at or above 34% for the fifth grant.

The take-up rate was noticeably lower for those who are aged 65 and over (62% for the first grant and 25% for the fifth grant), although they had the highest average claim value across all 5 grants at £3,100. The youngest age group (16 to 24) have the lowest average claim value at £2,000.

Figure 4: The number of claims and number of individuals that made a claim across all 5 grants, by age group¹²³

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant
3. There is missing age information for 21,000 individuals and 72,000 claims

Table 5: Number of claims and individuals, by age band¹²

Age band	First grant (000s)	Second grant (000s)	Third grant (000s)	Fourth grant (000s)	Fifth grant (000s)	Number of individuals (000s)
16-24	89	82	76	60	40	91
25-34	515	477	448	391	264	564
35-44	633	581	546	497	332	707
45-54	679	610	570	498	318	726
55-64	539	471	437	398	241	607
65+	136	114	101	100	59	180
Missing	18	16	15	14	8	21
All	2,610	2,351	2,194	1,958	1,262	2,897

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

Table 6: Value of claims, by age band¹²

Age band	First grant (£m)	Second grant (£m)	Third grant (£m)	Fourth grant (£m)	Fifth grant (£m)
16-24	188	150	160	129	67
25-34	1,471	1,187	1,258	1,102	581
35-44	1,840	1,469	1,554	1,422	753
45-54	2,001	1,556	1,631	1,401	716
55-64	1,587	1,199	1,248	1,116	557
65+	451	328	325	310	154
Missing	53	41	43	38	18
All	7,591	5,931	6,219	5,518	2,846

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

Figure 5: Age distribution of claims, by grant¹²

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

Table 7: Proportion of claims for each grant, by age band¹²

Age band	First grant	Second grant	Third grant	Fourth grant	Fifth grant
16-24	3%	3%	3%	3%	3%
25-34	20%	20%	20%	20%	21%
35-44	24%	25%	25%	25%	26%
45-54	26%	26%	26%	25%	25%
55-64	21%	20%	20%	20%	19%
65+	5%	5%	5%	5%	5%
Missing	1%	1%	1%	1%	1%

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

Figure 6: Take-up rates for each grant, by age band¹²

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

Table 8: Take-up rates for each grant, by age band¹²

Age band	First grant take-up rate	Second grant take-up rate	Third grant take-up rate	Fourth grant take-up rate	Fifth grant take-up rate
16-24	70%	65%	61%	52%	36%
25-34	77%	72%	68%	61%	42%
35-44	79%	73%	69%	62%	42%
45-54	79%	72%	67%	60%	38%
55-64	77%	67%	62%	55%	34%
65+	62%	52%	46%	42%	25%
Missing	75%	67%	63%	54%	33%
All	77%	69%	65%	58%	38%

Notes:

1. Age is calculated as at 13 May 2020 for the first, second and third grant
2. Age is calculated as at 22 April 2021 for the fourth and fifth grant

4. SEISS grants by industrial sector

(see Tables 3 and 3a in the accompanying tables for further details)

Self-employed individuals were asked to provide a description of their business activity on their Self Assessment tax returns. These activities have been mapped across to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 to enable analysis to be carried out by industrial sector. Industrial sector has been assigned based on the business description provided on the claimants Self Assessment tax return. Individuals with multiple trades and those that cannot be assigned to a SIC code are classified as unknown.

Figures 7 to 12 show the number of claims, the number of individuals that made claims and the value of claims across all 5 grants by industrial sector.

The construction industry had the largest population of individuals (34%) who claimed grants. Just under 1.0 million construction workers had made 3.5 million claims totalling £11.5 billion; an average of £3,300 per claim.

The sector with the highest average claims across all 5 grants was the financial and insurance activities sector (£3,800), but only 15,000 individuals in this sector made claims.

Self-employed individuals in the transportation and storage sector made up 10% of the total number of claims across the 5 grants and 248,000 individuals made just over 1.0 million claims totalling £2.1 billion. Administrative and support services made up 7% of the total number of claims and 221,000 individuals have made 746,000 claims totalling £1.4 billion.

Take-up rates across the 5 grants were highest in the other service activities, transportation and storage, construction, and education sectors. Take-up rates in those sectors range from 80% to 85% for the first grant and 41% to 58% for the fifth grant, with the 58% take-up rate belonging to individuals in the transportation and storage sector.

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector had the lowest take-up rate for each grant, with 59% for the first grant (compared to 77% overall) and 8% for the fifth grant (compared to 38% overall).

Figure 7: Number of claims made across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 8: Primary industrial sector (SIC 2007) distribution for claims across all grants, by grant

Figure 9: Number of individuals that made claims across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 9: Number of claims made across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Sector	Number of individuals (000s)	First grant (000s)	Second grant (000s)	Third grant (000s)	Fourth grant (000s)	Fifth grant (000s)
Construction	974	880	795	743	647	427
Transportation and storage	248	223	215	208	202	153
Administrative and support service activities	221	195	168	158	138	86
Other service activities	206	186	170	174	169	108
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	151	139	118	111	95	51
Professional, scientific and technical activities	133	120	108	93	80	52

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 10: Value of claims made across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 10: Value of claims made across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Sector	First grant (£m)	Second grant (£m)	Third grant (£m)	Fourth grant (£m)	Fifth grant (£m)
Construction	3,103	2,432	2,565	2,237	1,087
Transportation and storage	487	408	448	436	289
Administrative and support service activities	405	300	318	276	136
Other service activities	413	332	386	383	227
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	398	292	309	262	106
Professional, scientific and technical activities	417	322	309	261	143

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 11: Number of claims made across each grant, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 12: Number of claims across all 5 grants, by primary industrial sector¹ (smaller sectors not shown in figure 6)

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 11: Number of claims made across all grants, by primary industrial sector¹ (smaller sectors not shown in figure 6)

Sector	First grant (000s)	Second grant (000s)	Third grant (000s)	Fourth grant (000s)	Fifth grant (000s)
Human health and social work activities	101	92	78	64	39
Education	90	84	81	77	47
Arts, entertainment and recreation	75	71	66	61	41
Accommodation and food service activities	62	53	51	46	27
Manufacturing	59	52	48	42	25
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	63	47	35	24	8
Information and communication	24	22	19	16	11
Financial and insurance activities	13	12	10	8	5
Real estate activities	9	8	7	6	3
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	5	4	4	4	3

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 13: Take-up rates for each grant, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Notes:

1. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 12: Take-up rates for each grant, by primary industrial sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries¹ potentially eligible for the scheme)

Sector	First grant take-up rate	Second grant take-up rate	Third grant take-up rate	Fourth grant take-up rate	Fifth grant take-up rate
Construction	83%	76%	71%	63%	42%
Transportation and storage	84%	81%	79%	76%	58%
Administrative and support service activities	69%	60%	57%	50%	31%
Other service activities	85%	78%	80%	76%	48%
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	74%	63%	60%	53%	28%
Professional, scientific, and technical activities	67%	60%	52%	45%	29%

Figure 14 shows the average value of claims by sector which range from £3,800 per claim in the finance and insurance sector to £1,900 per claim in administrative and support services.

Figure 14: Average value of claims across all 5 grants by primary industry¹² of self-employment, ranked by average claim

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
2. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 13: Average value of claims across all 5 grants, by primary industry of self-employment, ranked by average claim

Sector	Average value of claims (£)
Financial and insurance activities	3,800
Construction	3,300
Professional, scientific and technical activities	3,200
Information and communication	3,100
Real estate activities	3,000
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	3,000
Manufacturing	2,800
All	2,700
Human health and social work activities	2,700
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	2,700
Arts, entertainment and recreation	2,600
Accommodation and food service activities	2,600
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	2,500
Education	2,400
Other service activities	2,200
Transportation and storage	2,100
Administrative and support service activities	1,900

At the 3 digit SIC level the group with the largest number of grant claimants is construction of residential and non-residential buildings with 474,000 individuals who have made over 1.7 million claims worth nearly £5.5 billion.

The highest average claim is in medicinal and dental practice activities where 53,000 claims have been made worth £250 million at an average of £4,700 per claim.

Take-up rates vary across the 5 grants. The highest take-up rate for the first and second grants is in land transport and transport via pipelines at 89% and 86% respectively. For the third grant the highest take-up rate is in gathering of wild growing non-wood projects (88%), although this covers less than 1,000 claims.

For the fourth and fifth grant the take-up is highest in travel agency and tour operator activities at 83% for the fourth grant and 72% for the fifth grant.

Figure 15: Number of claims for 10 largest industrial sub-sector¹²³ groups across all grants

Notes:

1. Industrial sub-sector groups are based on 3-digit Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) codes. More detail on SIC can be found in the methodology section of the ONS website
2. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
3. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Figure 16: Number of individuals who claimed a grant for 10 largest industrial sub-sector¹²³ groups across all grants

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. Industrial sub-sector groups are based on 3-digit Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) codes. More detail on SIC can be found in the methodology section of the ONS website
2. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
3. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 14: Number of claims and individuals for 10 largest industrial sub-sector¹ groups across all 5 grants

Industrial sub-sector group	First grant (000s)	Second grant (000s)	Third grant (000s)	Fourth grant (000s)	Fifth grant (000s)	Individuals (000s)
Construction of residential and non-residential buildings	418	382	361	326	232	474
Building completion and finishing	250	222	209	176	103	269
Land transport and transport via pipelines	198	192	186	180	138	216
Other personal service activities	174	160	164	161	103	193
Cleaning activities	111	98	93	84	55	127
Electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities	107	95	84	68	38	115
Other education	84	78	76	72	44	92
Other specialised construction activities	72	66	61	53	36	79
Creative, arts and entertainment activities	60	58	53	49	34	67
Landscape service activities	49	38	36	27	12	53

Note:

1. Industrial sub-sector groups are based on 3-digit Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) codes. More detail on SIC can be found in the methodology section of the ONS website

Figure 17: Value of claims for 10 largest industrial sub-sector¹²³ groups across all grants

Notes:

1. Industrial sub-sector groups are based on 3-digit Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) codes. More detail on SIC can be found in the methodology section of the ONS website
2. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
3. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 15: Value of claims for 10 largest industrial sub-sector¹ groups across all 5 grants

3 digit SIC Group	First grant (£m)	Second grants (£m)	Third grant (£m)	Fourth grant (£m)	Fifth grant (£m)
Construction of residential and non-residential buildings	1,437	1,139	1,219	1,109	578
Building completion and finishing	854	660	699	585	262
Land transport and transport via pipelines	423	357	395	384	264
Other personal service activities	382	307	360	360	216
Electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities	413	318	317	257	108
Other specialised construction activities	279	220	231	197	97
Other education	202	165	183	177	96
Cleaning activities	190	144	154	141	73
Creative, arts and entertainment activities	165	138	144	135	86
Landscape service activities	121	81	86	64	20

Note:

1. Industrial sub-sector groups are based on 3-digit Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) codes. More detail on SIC can be found in the methodology section of the ONS website

5. SEISS claims by geography

(see Table 2 in the accompanying tables for further details)

Using the claimant’s Self Assessment address, claims can be mapped to countries of the UK, English regions, and lower geographies.

Figure 18 shows the number of claims and number of individuals that have made a claim by country and region.

London had the largest number claims across all 5 grants (2.1 million), the largest number of individuals that made a claim (558,000) and the largest value of claims with a total value of £5.8 billion across the 5 grants.

The North East had the lowest average claim value across all 5 grants at £2,400. The highest average claims values across all 5 grants belong to individuals in East of England and South East (£2,900).

The average take-up rate across the whole United Kingdom for the first grant was 77%, with most regions within 2 percentage points of this. Northern Ireland had the highest take-up rate for the first grant (82%).

The average take-up rate for United Kingdom for the fifth grant was much lower at 38% with more variations across regions compared to the first grant. The take-up rate in London was 50% for the fifth grant compared to a 32% take-up rate in Northern Ireland and Wales, and a 30% take up rate in the South West. Figure 19 shows how the take-up rates change for each grant in each region.

175,000 self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 628,000 claims totalling £1.7 billion; in Wales 418,000 claims were made by 122,000 individuals worth £1.1 billion, and in Northern Ireland 294,000 claims were made by 85,000 individuals for £0.8 billion.

Figure 18: Number of claims and number of individuals that made a claim across all 5 grants by country and region¹², ranked by size of number of claims

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
2. 7,000 claimants making 23,000 claims could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 16: Number of claims and number of individuals that made a claim across all 5 grants by country and region, ranked by size of number of claims

Region	Number of claims (000s)	Number of individuals (000s)	Value of claims (£m)
London	2,127	558	5,817
South East	1,481	421	4,344
East of England	1,049	298	3,063
North West	978	270	2,415
South West	901	264	2,480
West Midlands	800	225	2,075
Yorkshire and the Humber	740	207	1,861
East Midlands	647	185	1,732
Scotland	628	175	1,710
Wales	418	122	1,054
Northern Ireland	294	85	783
North East	290	81	708
All	10,374	2,897	28,105

Figure 19: Take-up rates across all 5 grants, by country and region

Table 17: Take-up rates across all 5 grants, by country and region

Region	First grant take-up rate	Second grant take-up rate	Third grant take-up rate	Fourth grant take-up rate	Fifth grant take-up rate
England	77%	69%	65%	58%	38%
North East	77%	70%	66%	59%	37%
North West	78%	71%	67%	60%	39%
Yorkshire and the Humber	78%	70%	66%	59%	37%
East Midlands	76%	68%	64%	56%	35%
West Midlands	77%	70%	65%	58%	37%
East of England	76%	68%	64%	56%	36%
London	77%	72%	69%	65%	50%
South East	76%	68%	63%	55%	34%
South West	75%	66%	61%	52%	30%
Wales	79%	69%	63%	55%	32%
Scotland	76%	69%	64%	58%	36%
Northern Ireland	82%	73%	65%	56%	32%

Figure 20 shows the average value of claims across all 5 grants by country and region.

The regions and countries with the lowest average claim value across all 5 grants were the North East (£2,400).

The South East, the East of England (£2,900) and South West (£2,800) had average claim values above the UK average of £2,700.

Figure 20: The average value of claims across all 5 grants by region ^{1 2}, ranked by value

Source: HMRC SEISS linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:
1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
2. 7,000 claimants making 23,000 claims could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 18: The average value of claims across all 5 grants by region, ranked by value

Region	Average value of claims (£)
South East	2,900
East of England	2,900
South West	2,800
London	2,700
Scotland	2,700
UK Average	2,700
East Midlands	2,700
Northern Ireland	2,700
West Midlands	2,600
Wales	2,500
Yorkshire and the Humber	2,500
North West	2,500
North East	2,400

Sub-regional breakdowns

Tables 4 and 5 in the accompanying data table pack provide a breakdown of claimants across all 5 grants by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.

These tables also include a gender breakdown which show the number of male and female claimants and the amount they claimed by each area.

The maps below illustrate how the average value of grants varied by parliamentary constituency and local authority. Darker shades indicate a higher average grant amount.

The London, City of London local authority had the highest average claim amount at £3,800. The Newham local authority had the highest claim amount of £374 million.

In Northern Ireland, Mid Ulster, Lisburn and Castlereagh, Causeway Coast and Glens, and Newry, Mourne and Down had the highest average claim amounts at £2,800. In Scotland, Shetland Islands had the highest average claim amount £3,200 and Aberdeenshire had an average claim amount of £3,100. In Wales, Vale of Glamorgan, and Rhondda Cynon Taf local authorities had the highest average claim amounts at £2,700.

Figure 21: Average claim values across all 5 grants, by local authority

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2021

The East of England constituency of Mid Bedfordshire had the highest average grant of £3,300. The West Ham constituency had the highest total value of claims across all grants with £197 million.

In Northern Ireland, South Down had the highest average claim amount at £2,900. In Scotland, Gordon had the highest average claim amount at £3,100. In Wales, Cardiff North, Cynon Valley, Delyn, Pontypridd, and Wrexham constituencies had the highest average claim amounts at £2,700.

Figure 22: Average claim values across all 5 grants, by parliamentary constituency

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2021

6. SEISS claims by industrial sector and geography

(see Table 6 in the accompanying tables for further details)

Sections 6 to 8 of this bulletin consider the breakdown of the number of claims received in each country and region by different demographics (industry, gender and age). Comparable information relating to the number of claims, number of individuals that made a claim and value of claims can be found in tables 6 and 7 in the accompanying tables.

Figure 23 shows the breakdown of claims in each region and country by industrial sector. Construction, transport, other services and administrative services had the largest number of claims overall and are shown as separate categories on the chart. Other smaller industries have been combined.

The industry profile of claimants did not vary greatly between countries and regions. The main exceptions were seen in the construction industry and agriculture, forestry and fishing.

Individuals working in the construction industry accounted for the highest proportion of claims in every country and region of the UK. London had the highest proportion, with 40% of claims being from those working in construction and Scotland had the lowest with 26%.

The second largest sector by number of claims was transportation and storage. This industry accounted for 12% of claims in the North West. The lowest proportion of claims for this sector were in the South West (5%) and Wales (6%).

Figure 23: Primary industry of self-employment distribution of claims across all 5 grants¹², by country and region

Notes:

1. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
2. 413,000 individuals covering 1,460,000 claims are included as ‘Unknown and other’ and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code

Table 19: Primary industry of self-employment distribution of claims across all 5 grants, by country and region

Proportion of claims by region and sector	Construction	Transportation and storage	Other Service Activities	Administration and support services activities	Other and unknown
London	40%	12%	4%	9%	35%
East of England	36%	9%	8%	8%	39%
South East	34%	8%	8%	8%	42%
East Midlands	33%	7%	10%	7%	43%
West Midlands	33%	11%	8%	6%	41%
Wales	32%	6%	8%	6%	48%
Northern Ireland	31%	7%	8%	4%	49%
Yorkshire and the Humber	30%	11%	10%	6%	43%
South West	30%	5%	9%	8%	48%
North West	30%	12%	10%	6%	42%
North East	29%	11%	10%	6%	44%
Scotland	26%	11%	10%	6%	47%

7. SEISS claims by gender and geography

(see Table 7 in the accompanying tables for further details)

The areas with the highest proportion of males making claims were Northern Ireland, London and West Midlands (74%) and the lowest areas were Scotland and the South West (66% each).

Since the average claim amount was higher for males than females as well, men accounted for an even higher proportion of total claim values. In the West Midlands 79% and London 80% of total claim values were from men. The lowest male share was in the South West and Scotland where 73% of the total amount claimed was claimed by men.

Figure 24 shows the proportion of claims within each region by gender. The majority of claims for each grant were made by men, ranging from 66% of claims in the South West to 74% in Northern Ireland.

Figure 24: Gender distribution of claims across all 5 grants, by country and region

Table 20: Gender distribution of claims received across all 5 grants, by country and region

Proportion of claims by region and gender	Male	Female
Northern Ireland	74%	26%
London	74%	26%
West Midlands	74%	26%
North West	72%	28%
Wales	71%	29%
Yorkshire and the Humber	71%	29%
North East	71%	29%
East of England	71%	29%
East Midlands	69%	31%
South East	69%	31%
Scotland	66%	34%
South West	66%	34%

8. SEISS claims by age and geography

(see Table 7 in the accompanying tables for further details)

The age distribution of the claims received was reasonably consistent across all countries and regions except for London.

Between 43% (Scotland, Wales and South West) and 49% (the East of England) of the number of claims in each country and region is aged under 45 except in London where 58% are under 45.

A similar distribution was observed for claims and claim value with the lowest proportion aged under 45 being in Scotland (43% of claims and 40% of claim value) and the highest being in London (58% of claims and 58% of claim value).

Figure 25: Age distribution of claims across all 5 grants received, by country and region¹²³

Notes:

1. Age is calculated for the first 3 grants at the date the first grant opened on 13 May 2020
2. Age is calculated for the fourth and fifth grants at the date the fourth grant opened on 22 April 2021
3. There is missing age information for 21,000 individuals and 72,000 claims

Table 21: The proportion of claims received by country and region by gender

Proportion of claims by region and gender	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55-64	65+	Missing
London	4%	25%	29%	24%	14%	3%	0%
East of England	4%	20%	24%	25%	20%	5%	1%
South East	4%	20%	24%	26%	21%	5%	0%
East Midlands	3%	20%	24%	27%	21%	5%	1%
West Midlands	3%	19%	24%	27%	21%	5%	1%
Wales	3%	18%	22%	26%	23%	7%	1%
Yorkshire and the Humber	3%	19%	25%	28%	21%	5%	1%
North West	3%	19%	25%	26%	21%	5%	1%
South West	3%	18%	23%	27%	23%	6%	0%
North East	3%	18%	24%	27%	23%	5%	1%
Northern Ireland	2%	17%	25%	26%	21%	7%	3%
Scotland	2%	17%	23%	27%	24%	6%	1%

9. SEISS claims by gender and industrial sector

(see Table 10 in the accompanying tables for further details)

Sections 9 and 10 of this bulletin consider the breakdown of the number of claims received in each industrial sector by age and gender. Comparable information relating to the number of claims, number of individuals that made a claim and value of claims can be found in table 10 in the accompanying tables.

Figure 26 shows the breakdown of each industrial sector by gender. Overall, 71% of claims are made by men. However, men made less claims than women in administrative and support service activities (42%), human health and social work activities (17%) and other service activities (22%).

Construction (98% of claims) and transportation and storage (96%) are the sectors most heavily skewed towards male claimants.

Figure 26: Gender breakdown of claims across all 5 grants received in each industrial sector

Table 22: Gender breakdown of claims across all 5 grants received in each industrial sector

Sector	Number of male claimants (000s)	Number of female claimants (000s)
Construction	3,406	85
Transportation and storage	958	43
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	137	41
Information and communication	68	23
Manufacturing	160	66
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	362	152
Financial and insurance activities	34	15
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	14	6
Real estate activities	22	13
Arts, entertainment and recreation	176	136
Professional, scientific and technical activities	244	208
Education	195	183
Accommodation and food service activities	123	117
Administrative and support service activities	315	431
Other service activities	178	630
Human health and social work activities	62	311

10. SEISS claims by age and industrial sector

(see Table 10 in the accompanying tables for further details)

Figure 27 shows the age distribution of the 6 largest sectors. The largest proportion of claims by individuals under age 45 is in construction (56%) followed by arts, entertainment and recreation (55%). The lowest proportion is in accommodation and food services (29%).

Figure 27: Age distribution of claims across all 5 grants received in each industrial sector

Table 23: Age distribution of claims across all 5 grants received in each industrial sector

Proportion of sector claims by age	16-24 (000s)	25-34 (000s)	35-44 (000s)	45-54 (000s)	55-64 (000s)	65+ (000s)	Missing (000s)
Construction	190	889	887	804	589	112	21
Arts, entertainment and recreation	13	84	75	67	55	17	2
Other service activities	28	202	210	214	123	25	7
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	<1	4	6	5	4	<1	<1
Information and communication	2	19	25	23	17	4	<1
Education	10	71	89	101	87	17	2
Administrative and support service activities	21	133	192	208	161	28	4
Transportation and storage	7	121	276	318	225	46	8
Human health and social work activities	3	51	94	113	91	19	2
Manufacturing	5	34	47	59	58	20	2
Professional, scientific and technical activities	5	61	105	119	113	47	3
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	7	59	105	142	144	51	6
Real estate activities	<1	3	7	10	10	4	<1
Financial and insurance activities	<1	5	10	13	15	6	<1
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	6	23	26	39	49	31	2
Accommodation and food service activities	3	22	44	70	73	24	3

11. SEISS claims by claim band

Across all 5 grants around 4.6 million (44%) of claims were between £1,000 and £2,500. The £1,500 to £2,000 claim band contained the highest number of claims for the first 4 grants. The £1,000 to £1,500 contained the highest number of claims for the fifth grant, reflecting the large proportion of individuals that claimed the lower 30% grant.

There were 233,000 claims for the maximum £7,500 grant which could only be claimed for the first, third, fourth and fifth grants. For the second grant individuals could claim a 70% grant and of the 84,000 claims in the £6,500 to £7,000, the majority will have claimed the maximum grant.

Figure 28: Number of claims across all 5 grants received, by claim band

Table 24: Number of claims across all 5 grants received, by claim band

Value of claims	First grant claims (000s)	Second grant claims (000s)	Third grant claims (000s)	Fourth grant claims (000s)	Fifth grant claims (000s)	Total number of claims (000s)
Up to < £500	83	86	62	44	75	350
£500 to < £1000	196	235	168	137	200	935
£1,000 to < £1,500	326	385	287	256	212	1,466
£1,500 to < £2,000	400	405	352	325	210	1,692
£2,000 to < £2,500	363	306	314	288	160	1,432
£2,500 to < £3,000	258	215	220	208	110	1,011
£3,000 to < £3,500	199	170	168	157	69	764
£3,500 to < £4,000	164	137	137	127	55	619
£4,000 to < £4,500	136	108	112	101	43	500
£4,500 to < £5,000	111	82	90	79	33	395
£5,000 to < £5,500	89	62	71	61	25	308
£5,500 to < £6,000	70	46	55	46	19	237
£6,000 to < £6,500	55	35	42	35	14	182
£6,500 to < £7,000	43	84	32	27	11	197
£7,000 to < £7,500	33	0	25	20	8	87
£7500	94	0	67	51	21	233

12. SEISS claims by income band

Across all 5 grants around 4 million (38%) claims were made by individuals with a total income between £10,000 and £20,000. There were 3.3 million (31%) claims by individuals with a total income under £10,000, and 0.2 million claims by individuals with a total income above £50,000.

Total income refers to all sources of income stated in an individual’s Self Assessment tax return. In order to be eligible for the grant individuals must have income from self-employment of £50,000 or less. However, they may have income from other sources and so their total income can be above this amount.

For the first 3 grants, total income is based on information on Self Assessment tax returns for the tax year 2018 to 2019. For the fourth and fifth grant, total income is based on information on Self Assessment tax returns for tax year 2019 to 2020.

Figure 29: Number of claims across all 5 grants, by income band¹

Note:

1. It is possible for an individual to be deemed eligible to claim a grant based on average trading profits over the last 3 or 4 years, hence some individuals with income above £100,000 feature in the chart.

Table 25: Number of claims across all 5 grants received, by income band¹

Income band	First grant claims (000s)	Second grant claims (000s)	Third grant claims (000s)	Fourth grant claims (000s)	Fifth grant claims (000s)	Total number of claims (000s)
Up to < £10,000	803	730	697	616	407	3,253
£10,000 to < £20,000	987	894	846	771	498	3,995
£20,000 to < £30,000	467	416	383	342	220	1,829
£30,000 to < £40,000	216	189	167	143	88	804
£40,000 to < £50,000	102	88	75	61	36	363
£50,000 to < £70,000	40	34	28	25	14	141
£70,000 to < £100,000	6	5	4	4	2	20
£100,000+	<1	<1	<1	<1	<1	2

Note:

1. It is possible for an individual to be deemed eligible to claim a grant based on average trading profits over the last 3 or 4 years, hence some individuals with income above £100,000 feature in the chart.

13. Comparing claimants of all 5 grants

Of the 2.9 million individuals that claimed at least one grant, 1 million individuals claimed all 5 grants. 1.6 million individuals claimed each of the first 4 grants.

Around 100,000 claims for each of the fourth and fifth grant were made by individuals who were not eligible to claim the first 3 grants.

There is only a small population who first claimed a grant later than their first opportunity to do so. Around 100,000 individuals claimed the second grant without having claimed the first. There are very few cases where individuals made their first claim for the third grant. Figure 30 below shows for each grant whether individuals claiming each grant were first time claimants or had claimed a previous grant.

Figure 30: Number of claimants having previously claimed a grant, by grant

Table 26: Number of claimants for each grant, by previous claims

First grant	Second grant	Third grant	Fourth grant	Fifth grant
Claimants	2,610,000	2,351,000	2,194,000	1,958,000	1,262,000
Of which have claimed at least one previous grant	N/A	2,290,000	2,165,000	1,774,000	1,245,000
Of which have claimed all previous grants	N/A	2,290,000	2,021,000	1,615,000	1,025,000
Of which are first time claimants	N/A	61,000	28,000	184,000	17,000

14. SEISS fifth grant reported turnover reductions

By 28 October 2021, there had been 1.26 million claimants for the fifth grant, having a combined value of £2.85 billion. Comparing reported turnover for the claimants in tax year 2020 to 2021 with their selected reference year’s turnover shows that 1,058,000 (84%) of claimants reported a reduction in turnover.

Newly self-employed individuals (62,000) were not assessed on turnover reduction. Newly self-employed individuals and those who reported a 30% or greater turnover reduction were able to claim the higher grant (71% of all claimants).

A reduction of 50% or more of pre-pandemic turnover was reported by 529,000 claimants (42%) who claimed £1.4 billion (49% of the value claimed).

140,000 (11%) claimants reported an increase in turnover or no turnover change. Claims from this group totalled £140 million (5% of the value claimed). Eligibility for the fifth grant was based on income rules and trading activity being impacted coronavirus, as with all previous grants. Turnover was used to determine whether a claimant was eligible for the higher or lower grant.

In order to claim the fifth SEISS grant individuals must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021. Individuals reporting no change or an increase in turnover are still eligible to claim the fifth SEISS grant. The turnover declaration compares a reference year (either 2018 to 2019 or 2019 to 2020) to the pandemic year (a 12-month period beginning between 1 and 6 April 2020 inclusive). Individuals may have seen an impact to their trade despite an increase in turnover if their costs and profits were impacted or their turnover was less than expected as a result of coronavirus.

Figure 31: Reported Turnover Reduction by claimants of the fifth grant by 28 October 2021

Table 27: The turnover reduction reported by claimants of the fifth grant

Reported Turnover Change	Total no. of all claims made (000s)	Total value of all claims made (£m)	Average value of all claims made (£)
Newly self-employed, exempt from turnover declaration	62	142	2,300
No turnover change or increase	140	140	1,000
Up to 10% turnover reduction	58	68	1,200
10% to less than 20% turnover reduction	78	96	1,200
20% to less than 30% turnover reduction	88	106	1,200
30% to less than 40% turnover reduction	166	489	2,900
40% to less than 50% turnover reduction	139	398	2,900
50% or more turnover reduction	529	1407	2,700
Total	1,262	2,846	2,300

Background to the SEISS

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) was announced on 26 March 2020 as part of the UK government’s support package for businesses and self-employed people during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in early 2020.

The scheme was open to self-employed individuals and members of a partnership who met the following criteria:

• traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year, and
• traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020, and
• intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2019 to 2020, and
• carried on a trade which had been adversely affected by COVID-19

A business could be adversely affected by COVID-19 if, for example:

They were unable to work because they:

• were shielding
• were self-isolating
• were on sick leave because of COVID-19
• had caring responsibilities because of COVID-19

They have had to scale down or temporarily stop trading because:

• their supply chain had been interrupted
• they had fewer or no customers or clients
• their staff were unable to come in to work

The grant was not open to limited companies or those operating a trade through a trust.

To work out eligibility, HMRC first looked at the 2018 to 2019 Self Assessment tax return. Trading profits must have been between £0 and £50,000 and at least equal to non-trading income. If an individual was not eligible based on the 2018 to 2019 Self Assessment tax return, HMRC then looked at an average of the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, and 2018 to 2019.

The scheme allowed an eligible individual to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. The first grant closed for claims on 13 July 2020.

On the 17 August 2020 applications for the second grant opened. This was a taxable grant worth 70% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £6,570 in total. The second grant closed for claims on 19 October 2020.

On 30 November 2020 applications for the third grant opened. This was a taxable grant worth 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment and capped at £7,500 in total. The third grant closed for claims on 29 January 2021.

The eligibility rules changed slightly for the third grant. To be eligible for the third grant an individual must have been eligible for the first and second grant and also declared that they intended to continue to trade and either:

• were currently actively trading but were impacted by reduced activity, capacity or demand due to COVID-19
• were previously trading but were temporarily unable to do so due to COVID-19

The Government announced at Spring Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) would continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.

On 22 April 2021 applications for the fourth grant opened. The claims window closed on 1 June 2021. Eligibility for the fourth grant was based on a person’s tax returns for either:

• the 2019 to 2020 tax year, or
• an average of the consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020, if a person was not eligible based on 2019 to 2020 alone

With the 2019 to 2020 tax year assessed for the first time, some individuals could claim a grant that were previously unable to do so. These individuals were described as either:

• newly self-employed, meaning the individual started trading in 2019 to 2020 having not traded in any of 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018 or 2018 to 2019.
• previously ineligible, meaning they were assessed for the third grant, but did not meet the criteria for eligibility, for example because their trading profit was less than their non-trading income

On 29 July 2021 applications for the fifth grant opened. The claims window closed on 30 September 2021. This grant introduced 2 levels of grant based on the reduction in turnover experienced, between an individual’s reference year (either 2018 to 2019 or 2019 to 2020) and their pandemic year (a 12-month period starting between 1 April and 6 April 2021 inclusive). These 2 levels were either:

• a grant of 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits capped at £7,500 for those with a turnover down by 30% or more, or
• a grant of 30% of 3 months’ average trading profits capped at £2,850 for those with a turnover down by less than 30%

To be eligible for the higher grant, the individual’s turnover must have fallen by 30% or more between their reference year and the pandemic year. Newly self-employed individuals were not subject to the turnover test and could claim the higher grant.
The statistics presented in this release cover claims for all the grants in the scheme.

More information about the claiming grants can be found at HMRC’s coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and support page on gov.uk.

Glossary

The assessed for potential eligibility population are those self-employed individuals who HMRC identified as having traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 2 March 2021 for that year.

The SEISS potentially eligible population are those who HMRC identified as being potentially eligible for a grant based on the information held from their Self Assessment tax returns relating to the tax years; 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. This is the group who have been invited to claim for a grant. This does not attempt to assess if a business was affected by coronavirus (COVID-19) or whether they continued trading after 2019 to 2020.  So, it is the potentially eligible population based only on the information in the Self Assessment returns and not all will apply for the grant.

The assessed to be ineligible population are those self-employed individuals who HMRC identified as having traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 2 March 2021 for that year but were found not to be eligible after being assessed against the SEISS criteria. Trading profits must be between £0 and £50,000 and at least equal to non-trading income. For an individual to be found ineligible based on the income criteria they need to be found ineligible based on the 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax return and the combination of the relevant fields for consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. Individuals are also included in the ineligible figures in this publication if an individual’s grant calculation resulted in an amount of £0 or less and if they are recorded as having ceased trading on the Self Assessment systems.

The number of claims is defined as the total number of individuals who had submitted a claim for a grant that had been either paid, sent for payment or had been received and were awaiting various checks. Only non-rejected claims are included, with the majority of these having been paid or sent for payment. However, a small number of claims were still being processed and could be rejected.

Methodology and data sources

Coverage

This publication covers all self-employed individuals that made at least one claim for any of the 5 grants as at 28 October 2021. For the first 3 grants, this includes individuals that HMRC identified as having traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and having submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year. For the fourth and fifth grant, this includes individuals that HMRC identified as having traded in tax year 2019 to 2020 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 2 March 2021 for that year.

Small changes in the numbers of eligible and ineligible individuals between publications may be observed as HMRC continue to review and monitor HMRC data systems to identify all potentially eligible individuals and to ensure that only genuine HMRC customers are invited to claim.

The claim information covers individuals who had submitted a claim for the grant by 28 October 2021 which had not been rejected or failed certain compliance checks.

Data sources used in this release

The data for this release come from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) system for administering SEISS. It covers the whole population rather than a sample of people or companies.

Additional data from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) Self Assessment system and other HMRC administrative systems has been matched with SEISS data to produce the data released here.

The age, gender and postcode of residential address has been collected from the Self Assessment account for each individual. The industry information has been collected from the Self Assessment tax return for the tax year ending 5 April 2020 and relates to the self-employment business description provided on that return.

To produce the geographic breakdowns, the claimants’ residential postcode has been matched to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data that links UK Post Codes to geographic areas. The geographic areas that have been presented in this release are Country and English Region, Local Authority and Parliamentary Constituency.

The Self Assessment system is a live operational dataset and, as such, details such as residential address may be updated at any point. The allocation of geography and industry in these statistics is based on the latest reported information. As a result, it is possible for an individual claimant’s characteristics to change between the first publication of SEISS statistics on 11 June 2020 and subsequent publications.

Strengths and limitations

Experimental Statistics status

This release is classed as Experimental Statistics as the methodologies used to produce the statistics are still in their development phase. This does not mean that the statistics are of low quality, but it does signify that the statistics are new and still being developed. As the methodologies are refined and improved, there may be revisions to these statistics.

HMRC SEISS Management Information

Management information (MI) on the number and value of SEISS claims received had been published by HMRC at various dates since the scheme was launched on 13 May 2020.

This MI report will no longer be published and instead the HMRC Coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics page will point towards these statistics.

Differences compared to Survey of Personal Incomes

In HMRC’s Survey of Personal Incomes individuals are considered as self-employed if HMRC received or expects to receive SA forms covering income from self-employment in their 2018 to 2019 Self Assessment tax return. 

The population assessed for SEISS eligibility here includes only those individuals who submitted 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax returns by 2 March 2021 and included data on self-employment in that return.

Differences compared to other sources

Other organisations such as the Office for National Statistics and Institute for Fiscal Studies have published information about SEISS either from surveys or estimates derived from previously published data. We believe these HMRC statistics provide a more reliable picture as they are based on administrative data from the SEISS claim and Self Assessment systems.