Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics: July 2021
Updated 9 September 2021
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-july-2021/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-july-2021
1. Overview
This publication covers the fourth grant for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) up to 6 June 2021.
The 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.
1.1 Contact details
For queries or feedback on this publication, please email:
For press queries, please contact HMRC Press Office:
1.2 Next release
This page will be updated when there is a known date for the next release.
2. Main findings
The main findings from these statistics are:
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To date £25.2 billion has been paid in Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants in total (up to 6 June 2021). Across the four grants 2.9 million individuals have received a grant and 9.1 million total grants have been claimed
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Around 5.0 million individuals reported self-employment income for the tax year 2019 to 2020, and had their data assessed for potential Self-Employment Income Support Scheme eligibility. In order to be assessed, a self-employed individual needed to have traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020 and submitted a Self-Assessment tax return on or before 2 March 2021 for that year
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Via this process, 3.4 million self-employed individuals were identified as potentially eligible for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant. This is a similar size population as those potentially eligible for the earlier Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants. (Potentially eligible means that they met the criteria for the scheme based on Self-Assessment tax returns from 2019 to 2020 and earlier years. However, some of the businesses will not have been affected by Coronavirus or have ceased trading since 2019 to 2020 so will not have been eligible)
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Not all potentially eligible individuals will claim the grant. 2.0 million (58%) of this population have claimed the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant with the value of these claims totalling £5.5 billion. The claims window closed on 1 June 2021
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Around 500,000 people are brought into scope who either became self-employed in the tax year 2019 to 2020; or were ineligible for previous grants, but now may be eligible for the fourth grant based on their 2019 to 2020 tax return
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There are 112,000 (6%) claims by individuals that were not previously assessed for eligibility for the third grant of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. 61,000 (3%) claims are by individuals that were assessed for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant and found ineligible but are now eligible to claim Self-Employment Income Support Scheme based on their 2019 to 2020 tax returns
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For the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant the average value per claim was £2,800. Around two-thirds of the potentially eligible population are male (2.3m). The average claim for females is lower at £2,200 compared to the average claim for males of £3,100
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No single age group dominates take-up of the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, although take-up is notably lower among the over 65s at 42%
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The sector with the highest number of potentially eligible individuals and the highest proportion of claims is the construction industry. By 6 June, construction workers had made 647,000 claims for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, totalling £2.2 billion. Construction is the largest sector among the self-employed population with 1.2 million individuals assessed for eligibility
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The two regions with the highest number of claims of the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant are London (412,000) and the South East (275,000), reflecting their relative population sizes
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Of the 1.6 million that did not meet one or more of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme eligibility criteria, 1.4 million (85%) had trading profits less than non-trading profits (eg income from employment, investment or other income sources), 0.5 million (32%) had trading profits of £0 or made a loss and 0.2 million (11%) had trading profits over £50,000. (N.B. Individuals may be counted more than once). This represents a slight decline on the 1.7 million individuals who were assessed as ineligible for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant in our February statistics
3. About this release
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) provides support for self-employed individuals whose business has been affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19). On the 22 April 2021 applications for the fourth grant of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme opened. To make a claim for the fourth grant businesses must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 February 2021 and 30 April 2021. This is a grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total.
To be eligible for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant an individual must have traded in both tax years:
- 2019 to 2020 and submitted their tax return on or before 2 March 2021
- 2020 to 2021
They must either:
- be currently actively trading but impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus
- have been previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus
They must also declare that they:
- intend to continue to trade
- reasonably believe that there will be a significant reduction in trading profits
The data used in this release covers claims for the fourth grant in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme up to 6 June 2021. The claims window closed on 1 June 2021. This data has been matched with other HMRC data to present breakdowns of claims by:
- age and gender
- sector of the economy, and
- geography
Information on the first three Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants can be found on gov.uk:
HMRC coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics - GOV.UK
The tables that accompany this publication can be accessed at the link below:
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme - July 2021
Supplementary tables have also been published by HMRC and offer a further breakdown of the first and second Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants up to 31 October 2020. This includes the ineligible population with positive trading profits less than their non-trading income split by income source (for further details please see table 5d):
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics: November 2020 - GOV.UK
A fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant has also been announced, which will be open to claims from late July 2021. More information on this can be found below:
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant
4. Total Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant claims
To date, 2.9 million individuals have claimed at least one of the four Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grants. In total, £25.2 billion has been claimed across 9.1 million total claims. The claims window for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant closed on 1 June.
Table 1 - Number and value of claims, and number of individuals claiming each Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant to 6 June 2021
| Grant | Total no. of claims (000s) | Total value of claims (£m) | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| First SEISS grant | 2,609 | 7,589 | 2,900 |
| Second SEISS grant | 2,351 | 5,930 | 2,500 |
| Third SEISS grant | 2,194 | 6,218 | 2,800 |
| Fourth SEISS grant | 1,954 | 5,507 | 2,800 |
| All SEISS grants | 9,107 | 25,245 | 2,800 |
| Number of individuals | 2,879 | 25,245 | 8,800 |
Notes
- The lower average claim for the second SEISS grant is a result of grants being paid out at 70% of an individual’s average monthly trading profits, rather than 80% as for the other grants
5. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant claims and eligibility
Around 5 million individuals who reported income from self-employment were assessed for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme: 3.4 million of these were found to be potentially eligible and 1.6 million were found to be ineligible.
HMRC received 2.0 million claims for the fourth grant of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) from a total potentially eligible population of 3.4 million. This represents a take-up rate of 58%. These claims totalled £5.5 billion with an average award of £2,800 per claimant.
Eligibility for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme required an individual to have levels of income which met specific tests on:
- their 2019 to 2020 tax year income, or
- the combination of income for consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020 where available
With 2019 to 2020 tax year income assessed for the first time, some individuals could claim a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant that were previously unable to do so. These individuals are now described as either:
- not previously assessed, meaning they were not assessed for eligibility for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, for example because they did not submit a Self-Assessment tax return for the 2018 to 2019 tax year
- previously ineligible, meaning they were assessed for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, but did not meet the criteria for eligibility, for example because their trading profit was less than their non-trading income
Around 500,000 people are brought into scope who either became self-employed in the tax year 2019 to 2020; or were ineligible for previous grants, but now may be eligible for the fourth grant on the basis of submitting their 2019 to 2020 tax return.
Table 2 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population, number and value of fourth grant claims to 6 June 2021, by status
| Status | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) | Total value of claims made (£m) | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Previously eligible | 2,861 | 1,780 | 5,130 | 2,900 |
| Not previously assessed | 313 | 112 | 255 | 2,300 |
| Previously ineligible | 195 | 61 | 123 | 2,000 |
| All | 3,369 | 1,954 | 5,507 | 2,800 |
Figures below represent all criteria that apply to each individual from both sets of tests. Additionally, within each element individuals can be ineligible for multiple reasons and, as a result, there is a high level of overlap between the categories presented below.
Of the 1.6 million individuals who were assessed to be ineligible:
- 85% (1,388,000) had a trading profit that was less than their non-trading income
- 32% (532,000) had a trading profit £0 or less
- 11% (181,000) had trading profit exceeding £50,000 per year
- 6% (102,000) were ineligible for other reasons
The take-up rate of the fourth grant among individuals who were not previously assessed or previously ineligible for the third grant is noticeably lower than the full population.
6. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant by gender
Figure 1 shows the number of claims for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant and the potentially eligible population by gender. Table 2 also shows claim values by gender.
Of 5.0 million individuals who were assessed for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, men make up around two-thirds (65%) and make up a slightly higher proportion (68%) of the potentially eligible population.
HMRC has received 1,378,000 claims from men totalling £4.2 billion compared to 575,000 claims from women for £1.3 billion. Males have a higher take-up rate than females (60% compared to 54%) and their average grant value (£3,100) is higher than the average for females (£2,200).
Figure 1: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population and fourth grant claims to 6 June 2021 by gender
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Table 3 - Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population, number and value of fourth grant claims to 6 June 2021, by gender
| Gender | Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) | Total value of claims made (£m) | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 3,259 | 2,297 | 1,378 | 4,226 | 3,100 |
| Female | 1,746 | 1,071 | 575 | 1,280 | 2,200 |
| All | 5,010 | 3,369 | 1,954 | 5,507 | 2,800 |
Table 4 - Number and value of fourth grant claims to 6 June 2021, by not previously assessed and previously ineligible, and by gender
| Gender | Number of claims made by not previously assessed (000s) | Value of claims made by not previously assessed (£m) | Average value of claims made by not previously assessed (£) | Number of claims made by previously ineligible (000s) | Value of claims made by previously ineligible (£m) | Average value of claims made by previously ineligible (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | 80 | 199 | 2,500 | 40 | 74 | 2,200 |
| Female | 31 | 55 | 1,800 | 22 | 34 | 1,600 |
| All | 112 | 255 | 2,300 | 61 | 123 | 2,000 |
7. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant by age group
Figure 2 and Table 5 show the assessed for potential eligibility population, the potentially eligible population and volumes of claims made for fourth grant by age group. Table 5 also shows claim values by age.
Around 89% of individuals who were assessed as potentially eligible were between the ages of 25 and 64, with 90% of claimants coming from this age group. Take-up of the grant in these age-groups is at or above 55%. No single age group dominates, and claims are evenly spread.
The take-up rate is noticeably lower for those who are aged 65 and over (42% have claimed), although they have the highest average claim value at £3,100. The youngest age group have the lowest average claim value at £2,100.
Figure 2: The total potentially eligible population and number of claims to 6 June 2021 by age group
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes
- Age is calculated at the date the fourth grant of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme opened on 22 April 2021.
- There is missing age information for 26,000 in the potentially eligible population.
Table 5 - Potentially eligible population, number and value of claims to 6 June 2021, by age band
| Age band (as at 22 April 2021) | Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) | Total value of claims made (£m) | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 162 | 115 | 60 | 128 | 2,100 |
| 25-34 | 848 | 641 | 390 | 1,098 | 2,800 |
| 35-44 | 1,088 | 801 | 496 | 1,418 | 2,900 |
| 45-54 | 1,159 | 831 | 497 | 1,399 | 2,800 |
| 55-64 | 1,063 | 718 | 397 | 1,115 | 2,800 |
| 65+ | 649 | 237 | 100 | 309 | 3,100 |
| Missing | 41 | 26 | 14 | 40 | 2,800 |
| All | 5,010 | 3,369 | 1,954 | 5,507 | 2,800 |
Table 6 - Number and value of fourth grant claims to 6 June 2021, by not previously assessed and previously ineligible, and by age band
| Age band (as at 22 April 2021) | Number of claims made by not previously assessed (000s) | Value of claims made by not previously assessed (£m) | Average value of claims made by not previously assessed (£) | Number of claims made by previously ineligible (000s) | Value of claims made by previously ineligible (£m) | Average value of claims made by previously ineligible (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-24 | 14 | 27 | 1,900 | 3 | 6 | 1,600 |
| 25-34 | 38 | 87 | 2,300 | 18 | 32 | 1,800 |
| 35-44 | 29 | 67 | 2,300 | 16 | 30 | 1,900 |
| 45-54 | 19 | 44 | 2,400 | 12 | 24 | 2,000 |
| 55-64 | 10 | 23 | 2,400 | 9 | 21 | 2,300 |
| 65+ | 1 | 4 | 2,800 | 3 | 8 | 2,800 |
| Missing | 1 | 3 | 2,300 | <1 | <1 | 2,100 |
| All | 112 | 255 | 2,300 | 61 | 123 | 2,000 |
8. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant by industry sector
(see Table 3 in the accompanying tables for further details)
Self-employed individuals are asked to provide a description of their business activity on their self-assessment returns. These activities have been mapped across to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 2007 to enable analysis to be carried out by industry sector. Where an individual has multiple sources of self-employed income the activity with the highest income has been used for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme analysis.
Figures 3 and 4 show the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme populations and number of claims for the fourth grant made by industry sector.
The construction industry has the largest population of individuals who were assessed for potential eligibility with over 1.2 million and over 1 million of these were potentially eligible to apply. By 6 June construction workers had made 647,000 claims totalling £2.2 billion; an average of £3,500 per claimant.
Self-employed individuals in the transportation and storage sector make up 8% of the potentially eligible population and made 202,000 claims totalling £436 million. Administrative and support services also make up 8% of the potentially eligible population and have made 138,000 claims totalling £276m.
The highest rates of being assessed as potentially eligible were from individuals working in the construction industry (86%) and the transportation and storage sector (82%).
Lower rates of being assessed as potentially eligible for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme were found for individuals working in real estate activities (29%), financial and insurance activities (41%), agriculture, forestry and fishing (45%) and professional, scientific and technical activities (46%).
Figure 3: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of third grant claims made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Table 7 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of third grant claims made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
| Sector | Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1,210 | 1,036 | 647 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 378 | 278 | 138 |
| Transportation and storage | 326 | 266 | 202 |
| Other service activities | 288 | 225 | 170 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair | 282 | 181 | 96 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 388 | 178 | 80 |
Figure 3a: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fourth grant claims by not previously assessed individuals made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Table 7a - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fourth grant claims by not previously assessed individuals made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
| Sector | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 98 | 43 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 29 | 9 |
| Transportation and storage | 25 | 12 |
| Other service activities | 18 | 8 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair | 12 | 4 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 18 | 4 |
Figure 3b: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fourth grant claims by previously ineligible individuals made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Table 7b - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fourth grant claims by previously ineligible individuals made to 6 June 2021, by sector (for the 6 largest SIC industries potentially eligible for the scheme)
| Sector | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 39 | 16 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 14 | 4 |
| Transportation and storage | 12 | 5 |
| Other service activities | 11 | 5 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair | 10 | 2 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 17 | 4 |
Figure 4: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant made to 6 June 2021, by sector; (smaller sectors not shown in figure 3)
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes:
- 497,000 cases in the potentially eligible population are included as “Unknown and other” and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code
Table 8 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant made to 6 June 2021, by sector; (smaller sectors not shown in figure 3)
| Sector | Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human health and social work activities | 306 | 157 | 64 |
| Education | 193 | 115 | 77 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 234 | 106 | 24 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 181 | 98 | 61 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 124 | 79 | 46 |
| Manufacturing | 115 | 75 | 42 |
| Information and communication | 66 | 36 | 16 |
| Financial and insurance activities | 46 | 19 | 8 |
| Real estate activities | 53 | 15 | 6 |
| Public administration and defence | 11 | 7 | 4 |
Figure 5 shows the average value of claims by sector which range from £3,900 per claimant in the finance and insurance sector to £2,000 per claimant in administrative and support services.
Figure 5: Average value of claims to 6 June 2021 by primary industry of self-employment, ranked by average claim
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes:
- The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
- 497,000 cases of the potentially eligible population are included as “Unknown and other” and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code
Table 9 - Average value of claims to 6 June 2021, by primary industry of self-employment, ranked by average claim
| Sector | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|
| Financial and insurance activities | 3,900 |
| Construction | 3,500 |
| Professional, scientific and technical activities | 3,300 |
| Information and communication | 3,300 |
| Real estate activities | 3,100 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3,000 |
| Manufacturing | 2,900 |
| All claims | 2,800 |
| Human health and social work activities | 2,800 |
| Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair | 2,800 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 2,700 |
| Accommodation and food service activities | 2,700 |
| Public administration and defence | 2,700 |
| Education | 2,500 |
| Other service activities | 2,300 |
| Transportation and storage | 2,200 |
| Administrative and support service activities | 2,000 |
9. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant by geography
(see Table 2 in the accompanying tables for further details)
Using the claimant’s Self-Assessment address, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claims can be mapped to countries of the UK, English regions and lower geographies.
Figure 6 shows the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims made by country and region.
London has the largest number of individuals that were assessed for eligibility (904,000), the largest potentially eligible population (634,000) and the largest number of claims (412,000) totalling £1.193 billion.
England had the highest proportion of assessed individuals that were found to be eligible (68%), followed by Wales (65%), Scotland (64%) and Northern Ireland (63%).
Take-up rate is very even across the UK with most nations and regions having a take-up rate close between 55% and 60%. London has the highest take-up rate (65%) while the take-up rate in the South West is the lowest (52%).
Self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 120,000 claims totalling £337m; in Wales 77,000 claims for £203 million have been made and in Northern Ireland 53,000 claims for £146 million have been submitted.
Figure 6: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes:
- The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self-Assessment return.
- 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region.
Table 10 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
| Sector | Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 904 | 634 | 412 |
| South East | 756 | 501 | 275 |
| East of England | 512 | 347 | 196 |
| South West | 494 | 318 | 165 |
| North West | 451 | 309 | 186 |
| West Midlands | 379 | 260 | 150 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 347 | 238 | 139 |
| Scotland | 324 | 207 | 120 |
| East Midlands | 320 | 217 | 121 |
| Wales | 214 | 140 | 77 |
| Northern Ireland | 152 | 95 | 53 |
| North East | 137 | 93 | 55 |
Figure 6a: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant by not previously assessed individuals made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes:
- The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self-Assessment return.
- 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region.
Table 10a - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant by not previously assessed individuals made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
| Sector | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|
| London | 77 | 30 |
| South East | 44 | 14 |
| East of England | 30 | 10 |
| South West | 24 | 8 |
| North West | 29 | 11 |
| West Midlands | 24 | 9 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 20 | 7 |
| Scotland | 18 | 6 |
| East Midlands | 19 | 7 |
| Wales | 11 | 4 |
| Northern Ireland | 6 | 2 |
| North East | 8 | 3 |
| All | 313 | 112 |
Figure 6b: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant by previously ineligible individuals made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information
Notes:
- The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self-Assessment return.
- 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region.
Table 10b - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fourth grant by previously inelgible individuals made to 6 June 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population
| Sector | Total potentially eligible population (000s) | Total no. of claims made (000s) |
|---|---|---|
| London | 32 | 11 |
| South East | 29 | 9 |
| East of England | 20 | 6 |
| South West | 21 | 6 |
| North West | 18 | 6 |
| West Midlands | 15 | 5 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 14 | 4 |
| Scotland | 14 | 4 |
| East Midlands | 13 | 4 |
| Wales | 9 | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | 5 | 1 |
| North East | 6 | 2 |
| All | 195 | 61 |
Figure 7 shows the average value of fourth grant claims by country and region.
The regions and countries with the lowest average claim values are the North East (£2,500) and North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Wales (£2,600).
The South East and the East of England (both £3,000), and London (£2,900) have average claim values above the UK average of £2,800.
Figure 7: The average value of claims by region, ranked by value
Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self-Assessment taxpayer information Notes:
- The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self-Assessment return
- 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region
Table 11 - The average value of claims by region, ranked by value
| Sector | Average value of claims (£) |
|---|---|
| South East | 3,000 |
| East of England | 3,000 |
| London | 2,900 |
| South West | 2,800 |
| UK average | 2,800 |
| Scotland | 2,800 |
| East Midlands | 2,800 |
| Northern Ireland | 2,700 |
| West Midlands | 2,700 |
| Wales | 2,600 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 2,600 |
| North West | 2,600 |
| North East | 2,500 |
9.1 Sub-regional breakdowns
Tables 4 and 5 in the accompanying data table pack provide a breakdown of fourth grant claimants 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 claim by each area.
The maps below illustrate how the take-up rate for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme scheme has varied across the country.
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claims as a proportion of the potentially eligible population, by Local Authority
This contains the boundaries for Local Authority districts in the United Kingdom as at December 2020. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2020
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claims as a proportion of the potentially eligible population, by Parliamentary Constituency
Source: ONS licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2020
10. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant claims by industry sector and geography
(see Table 6 in the accompanying tables for further details)
Sections 10-12 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 value of claims, the potentially eligible population and take-up rates can be found in tables 6 and 7 in the accompanying tables.
Figure 8 shows the breakdown of claims in each region and country by industry sector. Construction, transport and administrative services have the largest number of claims overall and are shown as separate categories on the chart. Agriculture, forestry and fishing is also large for some areas and is shown separately. Other smaller industries have been combined.
The industry profile of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimants does not vary greatly between countries and regions. The main exceptions are seen in the construction industry and agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Individuals working in the construction industry account for the highest proportion of claims in every country and region of the UK. London has the highest proportion, with 40% of claims being from those working in construction and Scotland has the lowest with 26%.
Individuals working in agriculture, forestry and fishing account for 7% of all claims made by individuals in Northern Ireland, 4% in Wales, 2% in Scotland and only 1% in England.
Figure 8: The proportion of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region by primary industry of self-employment
Notes:
- The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment.
- 497,000 cases of the potentially eligible population are included as “Unknown and other” and almost all of these (99%) could not be allocated to a SIC code.
Table 12 - The proportion of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region by primary industry of self-employment
| Proportion of claims by region and sector | Construction | Agriculture, forestry and fishing | Transportation and storage | Administrative and support service activities | Other and unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 40% | 0% | 13% | 9% | 38% |
| East of England | 35% | 1% | 9% | 8% | 47% |
| South East | 33% | 1% | 9% | 8% | 50% |
| East Midlands | 32% | 1% | 8% | 7% | 52% |
| West Midlands | 32% | 1% | 12% | 6% | 49% |
| Wales | 32% | 4% | 6% | 6% | 52% |
| South West | 29% | 2% | 6% | 7% | 56% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 29% | 1% | 12% | 6% | 51% |
| Northern Ireland | 32% | 7% | 8% | 4% | 49% |
| North West | 30% | 1% | 13% | 6% | 51% |
| North East | 29% | 2% | 12% | 5% | 53% |
| Scotland | 26% | 2% | 12% | 6% | 54% |
11. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant claims by gender and geography
(see Table 7 in the accompanying tables for further details)
The area with the highest proportion of males in the potentially eligible population is Northern Ireland (73%) and the lowest areas are Scotland and the South West (64% each). A similar pattern is seen in the number of claims received by 6 June with male claimants accounting for 74% of claims in Northern Ireland, 74% of claims in London and 65% of claims in South West.
Since the average claim amount is higher for males than females as well, men account for an even higher proportion of total claim values. In the West Midlands, (79%) and London (80%) of total claim values are from men. The lowest male share is in Scotland and the South West where 72% of the total amount claimed is claimed by men.
Figure 9: The proportion of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region by gender
Table 13 - The proportion of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region by gender
| Proportion of claims by region and gender | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| London | 74% | 26% |
| Northern Ireland | 74% | 26% |
| West Midlands | 73% | 27% |
| North West | 71% | 29% |
| Wales | 71% | 29% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 71% | 29% |
| North East | 70% | 30% |
| East of England | 70% | 30% |
| South East | 69% | 31% |
| East Midlands | 68% | 32% |
| South West | 65% | 35% |
| Scotland | 66% | 34% |
12. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fourth grant claims by age and geography
(see Table 7 in the accompanying tables for further details)
The age distribution of the potentially eligible population and claims received by 6 June 2021 is reasonably consistent across all countries and regions with the exception of London.
Between 41% (Scotland) and 47% (England) of the potentially eligible population in each country and region is aged under 45 except in London where 57% are under 45.
A similar distribution is observed from claims with the lowest proportion aged under 45 being in Scotland (43% of claims and 41% of claim value) and the highest being in London (57% of claims and 58% of claim value).
Figure 10: Age distribution of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region
Notes:
- Age is calculated at the date the first grant opened on 22 April 2021.
- The age for around 26,000 individuals in the potentially eligible population is not known which is around 1% of each country/region although slightly higher at 3% for individuals living in Northern Ireland.
Table 14 - Age distribution of claims received by 6 June 2021 in each country and region
| Proportion of claims by region and gender | 16-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ | Missing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | 4% | 25% | 29% | 24% | 15% | 3% | 0% |
| East of England | 3% | 20% | 25% | 25% | 21% | 5% | 1% |
| South East | 3% | 19% | 25% | 25% | 21% | 6% | 1% |
| North West | 3% | 19% | 25% | 26% | 21% | 5% | 1% |
| West Midlands | 3% | 19% | 25% | 27% | 21% | 5% | 1% |
| East Midlands | 3% | 19% | 24% | 26% | 21% | 5% | 1% |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 3% | 18% | 25% | 27% | 21% | 5% | 1% |
| North East | 2% | 17% | 24% | 27% | 23% | 5% | 1% |
| South West | 3% | 18% | 23% | 26% | 24% | 7% | 1% |
| Northern Ireland | 2% | 17% | 25% | 26% | 21% | 6% | 3% |
| Wales | 3% | 18% | 23% | 26% | 23% | 6% | 1% |
| Scotland | 2% | 17% | 24% | 26% | 24% | 6% | 1% |
13. Background to the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme
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 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
- traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
- intended to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021
- carried on a trade which had been adversely affected by coronavirus
A business could be adversely affected by coronavirus if, for example:
- they were unable to work because they:
- were shielding
- were self-isolating
- were on sick leave because of coronavirus
- had caring responsibilities because of coronavirus
- they have had to scale down or temporarily stop trading because:
- their supply chain has been interrupted
- they have fewer or no customers or clients
- their staff are unable to come in to work
The grant is not open to limited companies or those operating a trade through a trust.
To work out eligibility, HMRC first look at the 2018 to 2019 Self-Assessment tax return. Trading profits must be 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 allows an eligible individual to claim a taxable grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. The first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant closed for claims on 13 July 2020.
On the 17 August 2020 applications for the second Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant opened. This was a taxable grant worth 70% of their average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering three months’ worth of profits, and capped at £6,570 in total. The second Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant closed for claims on 19 October 2020.
On 30 November 2020 applications for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant opened. On 30 November 2020 applications for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant opened. This was a taxable grant worth 80% of an individual’s average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. The third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant closed for claims on 29 January 2021.
The eligibility rules changed slightly for the third grant. To be eligible for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 3 an individual must have been eligible for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 1 and 2 and also declare that they intend to continue to trade and either:
-
are currently actively trading but are impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus.
-
were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.
The Government announced at Budget 2021 that the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) will continue until September, with a fourth and a final fifth grant.
On 22 April 2021 applications for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant opened. Eligibility for the fourth grant required an individual to have levels of income which met specific tests on:
- their 2019 to 2020 tax year income, or
- the combination of income for consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020 where available.
With 2019 to 2020 tax year income assessed for the first time, some individuals could claim a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant that were previously unable to do so. These individuals are now described as either:
- not previously assessed, meaning they were not assessed for eligibility for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, for example because they did not submit a Self-Assessment tax return for 2018 to 2019 but did submit a return in 2019 to 2020.
- previously ineligible, meaning they were assessed for the third Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant, but did not meet the criteria for eligibility, for example because their trading profit was less than their non-trading income.
The statistics presented in this release mainly cover claims for the fourth grant in the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme scheme up to 6 June 2021.
More information about the upcoming fifth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant can be found below:
Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant
14. 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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population are those who HMRC identified as being potentially eligible for a Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant. This does not attempt to assess if a business was affected by coronavirus 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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme criteria. Trading profits must be between £0 and £50,000 and at least equal to their 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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant by 6 June 2021 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.
15. Methodology and data sources
15.1 Coverage
This publication covers all self-employed individuals assessed for potential eligibility for the fourth Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant as at 6 June 2021. Generally, this includes individuals that 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.
Although this covers the vast majority of cases, there are some other circumstances that are considered when including individuals for assessment and which also may affect potential eligibility to Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. You can read more about how different circumstances affect Self-Employment Income Support Scheme on GOV.UK.
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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant by 6 June 2021 which had not rejected or failed certain compliance checks.
15.2 Data sources used in this release
The data for this release come from HMRC’s system for administering Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. It covers the whole population rather than a sample of people or companies.
Additional data from HMRC’s Self-Assessment system and other HMRC administrative systems has been matched with Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 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 these statistics on 11 June 2020 and subsequent publications.
15.3 Ineligible population compared against Self-Employment Income Support Scheme eligibility criteria
Analysis of the assessed ineligible population against the eligibility criteria is as a result of additional analysis of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme data in order to provide a description of this group of individuals. An individual can be outside of the criteria for multiple reasons for both the 2019 to 2020 Self-Assessment tax return and the tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. Additionally, it is possible for the same individual to be ineligible due to different criteria across these two stages. For the purposes of the figures presented here, ineligible individuals are recorded against all the categories that apply to that individual. As a result, individuals can be ineligible in multiple ways and there is a high level of overlap between the categories presented.
16. Strengths and limitations
16.1 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.
16.2 HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme Management Information
Management information (MI) on the number and value of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 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 statistics page will point towards these statistics.
16.3 Differences compared to Survey of Personal Incomes
In the Survey of Personal Incomes individuals are considered as self-employed if HMRC received or expects to receive Self-Assessment forms covering income from self-employment in their 2017 to 2018 Self-Assessment tax return.
The population assessed for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 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.
16.4 Differences compared to other sources
Other organisations such as the ONS and Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have published information about Self-Employment Income Support Scheme 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 Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claim and Self-Assessment systems.