Research and analysis

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme: survey of customer experience – quantitative research with self-employed individuals

Published 13 October 2022

Research conducted by the independent research agency Ipsos between 24 August and 17 September 2020. Prepared by Ipsos (Joanna Crossfield Rebecca Klahr, Kelly Maguire and Yasmin White) for HMRC.

Disclaimer: The views in this report are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of HMRC.

HMRC research report 679

Glossary

Term	Definition
Agent	An individual who acts on behalf of a self-employed person, including accountants, tax agents or other professionals. Agents could not apply for the scheme on behalf of their clients. However, they could request a review of eligibility or the grant amount on their behalf and generally assist their clients to apply, for example by answering questions about the scheme.
Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying	Throughout the report, this group combines the following sectors: Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying; Electricity, Gas, Steam and Air Conditioning Supply; and Water Supply, Sewerage, Waste Management and Remediation Activities.
Professional and Technical Services	Throughout the report, this group combines the following sectors: Financial and Insurance Activities; Real Estate Activities; Professional Scientific and Technical Activities; and Administrative and Support Service Activities.
Public and Other Services	Throughout the report, this group combines the following sectors: Education; Human Health and Social Work Activities; Arts, Entertainment and Recreation; and Other Service Activities.
Retail and Hospitality	Throughout the report, this group combines the following sectors: Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles; and Accommodation and Food Service Activities.
The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme	Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. This was launched in May 2020 and aims to support self-employed individuals who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The first grant was worth 80% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. The second grant was worth 70% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits and was also paid in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, capped at £6,570 in total. The scheme could be claimed by businesses adversely affected by COVID-19 on or before 13 July 2020 (for the first grant) and/or on or after 14 July 2020 (for the second grant). A third and fourth grant were also announced after the time of this research.
Transport and Communications	Throughout the report, this group combines the following sectors: Transport and Storage; and Information and Communications.

1. Executive summary

1.1. Background

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was launched in May 2020 and aimed to support self-employed individuals who had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The first grant was available from 13 May to 13 July 2020 and to claim this, businesses needed to be adversely affected by coronavirus on or before 13 July 2020. The second grant was available from 17 August to 19 October 2020.

The first grant was worth 80% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. The second grant was worth 70% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits and was also paid in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, capped at £6,570 in total.

This report presents findings from an online survey of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimants. The research was conducted by the independent research agency Ipsos between 24 August and 17 September 2020. The research explored claimants’ overall experiences of applying for the scheme and took place while applications for the second grant were still open. All respondents had claimed the first grant, and the vast majority had also claimed the second grant. The third and fourth grants had not been announced at the time of this research.

1.2. Application process

Almost 9 in 10 (87%) self-employed individuals had claimed both grants at the time of the survey. Of those who had not claimed the second grant, one in five (16%) said that they intended to do so at a later date, and two-thirds (66%) said they did not intend to. The remaining 2 in 10 self-employed individuals (18%) were not sure if they would claim.

The most common reason individuals gave for not intending to apply for the second grant was because their business was no longer adversely affected by coronavirus.

During the application process:

• the majority of claimants (84%) claimed the grant themselves and did not use an agent to support their application
• the vast majority applied online for the first grant (97%) and the second grant (98%)
• the most common reason for applying by telephone was because of issues with the online application (59%)

1.3. Information sources

More than eight in ten (84%) claimants had looked for or received information on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The top information sources were HMRC pages on GOV.UK (43%), and an email received from HMRC (37%). Just over one in ten claimants (12%) said they had not looked for or received any information on the scheme.

1.4. Application outcome and contact with HMRC

The majority of claimants had received both the first (98%) and second grant (92%) at the time of the survey.

Three-quarters of claimants (76%) did not contact HMRC in any way about the scheme. Just over 2 in 10 claimants (21%) did contact HMRC and the most common reasons for this were to:

• check they were eligible for the scheme (32%)
• check when they could apply (28%)
• ask about how to apply (11%)

Those who had contacted HMRC with queries about the scheme were positive about their experience; over eight in ten (85%) rated them as ‘good’ at resolving their issues and queries, including 7 in 10 (73%) who rated them as ‘very good’.

1.5. Experience of the application process

Claimants reported a highly positive experience of applying for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. Almost all (96%) rated their overall experience as ‘good’, with eight in ten (80%) saying it was ‘very good’. Just over nine in ten (93%) found applying for the scheme ‘easy’, with two-thirds (66%) saying it was ‘very easy’.

At least nine in ten claimants agreed that HMRC made the various steps in the application process clear (91%), that HMRC made it clear when payment would be received (91%), and that HMRC made the date they would be able to claim clear (90%). Over eight in ten claimants (85%) agreed that HMRC made the information needed to make a claim clear before they applied.

2. Introduction

2.1. Background

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme was launched in May 2020 and aims to support self-employed individuals who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The grant can be claimed by self-employed individuals whose business has been adversely affected by coronavirus. All of the following must also apply:

• they traded in the tax year 2018 to 2019 and submitted their Self Assessment tax return on or before 23 April 2020 for that year
• they traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020
• they intended to continue to trade in the tax year 2020 to 2021

To be eligible for the first grant, claimants’ businesses needed to be adversely affected by coronavirus on or before 13 July 2020. To be eligible for the second grant, they needed to be adversely affected by coronavirus on or after 14 July 2020. Full information on the eligibility criteria can be found on GOV.UK.

The first grant could be claimed from 13 May to 13 July 2020 and the second grant could be claimed from 17 August to 19 October 2020. This research took place in August and September 2020, meaning that claims for the first grant were closed, but claims for the second grant were open. The third and fourth grants had not yet been announced.

The first grant was worth 80% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits, paid out in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, and capped at £7,500 in total. The second grant was worth 70% of claimants’ average monthly trading profits and was also paid in a single instalment covering 3 months’ worth of profits, capped at £6,570 in total.

2.2. Research aims

The purpose of this research was to examine individuals’ overall experiences of applying for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, with a primary focus on the application for the first grant. The specific research aims were:

• to understand overall experiences of applying for the scheme
• to understand ease of applying for the scheme
• to explore ease of resolving any issues applicants contacted HMRC about

2.3. Method and sample

This research was undertaken by the Ipsos Social Research Institute, an independent research agency, and consisted of both a pilot and a mainstage survey.

An online survey was deemed to be the most appropriate, effective and efficient way of reaching claimants. This was partly because the application process was primarily online, and this is the way almost all individuals applied for the grant. Using an online survey also enabled findings to be obtained in a much shorter timeframe than other methods would have allowed.

Pilot survey

A pilot survey was used to gauge the response rate for the sample population. It was also used to calculate how large the mainstage sample should be to achieve the required number of responses for robust subgroup analysis. This enabled analysis by subgroups of interest, such as region and sector.

For the pilot, HMRC provided a sample of 5,000 individuals that were randomly selected from a database of individuals who had claimed the first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant. This group were sent an email inviting them to complete the survey.

The pilot fieldwork took place between 24 August and 2 September 2020. Two reminders were sent to those who had not yet responded, on 28 August and 1 September. The pilot survey received 343 completes, giving an unadjusted response rate of 6.9%. Following these calculations, it was decided the mainstage sample should include 90,000 individuals who claimed the first grant in order to achieve the target number of interviews.

Mainstage survey

The mainstage survey took place between 3 and 17 September 2020. During this time, 2 reminders were sent to those who had not yet responded, on 7 and 16 September. The second reminder was only sent to those in the Construction and Transport and Storage sectors, given response rates were lower among individuals in these groups.

Ninety thousand individuals were invited to complete the mainstage survey and 6,968 responded, bringing the total to 7,311 completes after adding those from the pilot. This gives an overall unadjusted response rate of 7.7%. At the start of the survey, the interview verified that the respondent had claimed the first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant.

The tables below show the number of respondents who completed the survey by sector, region, agent use, use of online services, age and health condition. Please note, some categories may not sum to exactly to 100% due to rounding.

Table 2.1: Number of respondents by sector

Description	% of total	Number
Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying	2%	117
Manufacturing	3%	217
Construction	24%	1,768
Retail and Hospitality	8%	574
Transportation and Communications	12%	888
Professional and Technical Services	20%	1,471
Public and Other Services	30%	2,221
Not stated (includes ‘don’t know’, ‘refused’ or ‘prefer not to say’)	1%	55

Table 2.2: Number of respondents by region

Description	% of total	Number
North East	3%	208
North West	9%	631
Yorkshire and the Humber	7%	509
West Midlands	7%	477
East Midlands	7%	478
East of England	11%	807
South West	11%	800
South East	17%	1,207
London	17%	1,255
Wales	4%	273
Scotland	7%	518
Northern Ireland	2%	144
Not stated	0.1%	4

Table 2.3: Number of respondents by agent support

Description	% of total	Number
Agent helped with application	14%	1,060
Agent did not help with application	85%	6,191
Not stated	1%	60

Table 2.4: Number of respondents by previous use of online services

Description	% of total	Number
Used HMRC online services previously	71%	5,220
New to HMRC online services	23%	1,670
Not stated	5%	388

Please note, the use of online services variable in Table 2.4 sums to 7,278 individuals (rather than the 7,311 total) as the question was only asked of those who had used the eligibility checker or applied online.

Table 2.5: Number of respondents by age

Description	% of total	Number
16-34	10%	746
35-64	80%	5,849
65+	9%	653
Not stated	1%	63

Table 2.6: Number of respondents by health condition

Description	% of total	Number
No health condition	78%	5,674
Has health condition	15%	1,128
Not stated	6%	475

Findings were weighted to ensure they reflected the profile of the whole population that claimed the first grant. More information on this is included in the Technical Appendix.

2.4. Interpretation of findings

This report is based on the survey responses of 7,311 self-employed individuals who had claimed the first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant (87% had also claimed the second grant).

HMRC provided Ipsos with a randomly-drawn sample of claimants, the profile of which matched the profile of the population of claimants overall (by sector and region). The final data were then weighted to ensure they were reflective of the overall claimant population, meaning that we can report on the overall findings and any differences by claimant group with confidence.

That being said, all survey results are subject to some uncertainty, which varies with the size of the sample and the percentage figure concerned. Please refer to the Technical Appendix for more detail.

Please also note that:

• only survey findings that are statistically significant at the 95% confidence interval have been reported in the commentary (although charts and tables may include non-statistically significant differences)
• all tables and charts report weighted data, but include the unweighted base size
• where figures in charts and tables do not sum to 100%, this is due to rounding and/or the question allowing multiple responses
• due to the relatively small sample sizes for certain sectors, these have been grouped with other similar sectors for more robust analysis (the definitions for these are included in the Glossary)

3. Application process

Key findings:

• almost nine in ten self-employed individuals (87%) had claimed both the first and second grant (all survey respondents had claimed the first grant)
• of those who had not claimed the second grant, just under 2 in 10 (16%) intended to at the time of the survey
• amongst those who did not intend to claim the second grant, this was typically because they were no longer affected by coronavirus (54%)
• the majority of claimants did not use an agent to help them with their application (84%)
• almost all claimants used the eligibility checker (94%) to see whether they were eligible for the scheme
• the vast majority of claimants applied online (97% for the first grant, 98% for the second grant), with the remainder applying by telephone (3% for the first grant, 2% for the second grant)
• the most common reason for applying by telephone was because of issues with an online application (59%)
• eight in ten (80%) claimants already had a Government Gateway ID, and 7 in 10 (69%) had used HMRC online services, before applying for the scheme

3.1. Grants claimed

3.1.1. Claims for first and second grant

Most respondents had claimed both the first and second grant (87%), whilst 13% had only claimed the first grant. Claiming for both was more common amongst those based in London (90%), as well as those from the Transport and Communications (93%) and Public and Other Services (90%) sectors.

Respondents based in the South West (18%) were more likely to have only made a claim for the first grant. This was also the case for those in the Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying (24%), Retail and Hospitality (16%) and Professional and Technical Services sectors (15%), as well as respondents aged 65 and over (16%).

Amongst those who had not yet claimed the second grant, just under 2 in 10 (16%) intended to do so. Two-thirds (66%) did not intend to do so and the remaining 2 in 10 self-employed individuals (18%) were not sure.

Intending to claim the second grant after the time of the survey was more common amongst self-employed individuals in the Transport and Communications (25%) and Public and Other Services (21%) sectors. This was also more likely amongst those in London (30%).

Figure 3.1: Intention to claim second grant (Top mentions)

Question: Do you intend to claim the second Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant?

Intention to claim second grant (Top mentions)	Percentage
Yes	16%
No, my business was not negatively affected on or after 14 July 2020	54%
No, my business is improving/it is manageable	3%
No, I am back at work/have an income	3%
No, other	6%
Not sure	18%

Base (unweighted): All who had not claimed the second grant (912). 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’. Total does not sum to 100% due to rounding.

As demonstrated in Figure 3.1, the most common reason for not claiming the second grant was no longer being affected by coronavirus. This was more likely to be reported amongst those in the Construction sector (63%) and those based in the South East and South West (both 66%).

3.1.2. Initial contact from HMRC about the scheme

When asked how, if at all, they were contacted by HMRC to tell them they may be eligible for the scheme, 6 in 10 reported that this was done by email (59%). Just under one in ten reporting receiving a letter (8%) and a text message (7%). Almost 2 in 10 did not recall being contacted at all (17%), and 9% were not sure (Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2: Method of initial contact from HMRC about the scheme

Question: How, if at all, did HMRC first contact you to tell you that you may be eligible to claim your first/a grant from the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

Method of initial contact from HMRC about the scheme	Percentage
Email	59%
Letter in the post	8%
Text messages	7%
Not sure	9%
HMRC did not contact me about the scheme	17%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). Less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’. Total does not sum to 100% due to rounding.

3.2. Application process

3.2.1. Agent support

Agents could not submit an application for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme for their clients. However, agents could request a review of eligibility or the grant amount, and generally assist claimants, for example by answering questions about the grant.

Claimants were asked if an agent supported them with their application. The majority of claimants did not receive help from an accountant, tax agent or other professional when claiming a grant (84%). Among those who did receive help, 12% received help with checking their eligibility and 5% received help with preparing their claim (Figure 3.3). In contrast, almost 6 in 10 (57%) claimants recalled using an agent to completely prepare and submit their last Self Assessment return, which was due on 31 January 2020. Only 29% had prepared their last Self Assessment return themselves. A further 8% selected ‘Prepared the majority of the return themselves, but someone else checked it’, 3% selected ‘Someone else prepared the majority and they checked it’, 1% selected ‘Not sure’ and ‘Prefer not to say’.

Figure 3.3: Agent support with application

Question: Did you use an accountant, tax agent or other professional to help with either of your claims/your claim?

Agent support	Percentage
Yes, to check eligibility	12%
Yes, help to prepare the application	5%
No	84%
Not sure	1%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). Less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’. Total does not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Claiming directly was more common amongst claimants based in the East Midlands (88%) and the South West (86%), as well as those in the Professional and Technical Services (89%) and Public and Other Services (86%) sectors. Those who had used HMRC online services previously were also more likely to have claimed directly (87%).

In contrast, those who were new to HMRC online services were more likely to have received agent support (21%). Receiving support from an agent was also more common amongst those in the Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying (26%), Transport and Communications (18%) and Retail and Hospitality (19%) sectors, and those based in Northern Ireland (24%) and London (17%). Those aged 65 and above were also more likely to have received support from an agent (18%).

3.2.2. Eligibility checker

The online eligibility checker was launched on GOV.UK before the first grant opened for applications in May 2020 and was available until 13 July 2020. Self-employed individuals could enter their Self Assessment Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number and National Insurance number to check if they were eligible for the scheme.

Nine in ten (89%) reported that they used the eligibility checker themselves, 2% recalled that their agent did, and 3% reported that they both did (Figure 3.4). Combined, 94% said that either they or their agent used the eligibility checker.

Figure 3.4: Use of eligibility checker

Question: Did you (or your agent) use the online eligibility checker tool for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

Use of eligibility checker	Percentage
Yes, used it themselves	89%
Yes, their agent did	2%
Yes, they both did	3%
No	3%
Not sure	3%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). Less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’.

Amongst claimants who used the checker themselves, those in the Professional and Technical (92%) and Public and Other Services (91%) sectors were more likely to have done so, along with those who had used HMRC online services previously (92%).

Amongst claimants who had used the eligibility checker, one-third (33%) used the checker once, just over half (52%) used it twice, 8% used it at least 3 times and 7% said they were not sure( less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’). Self-employed individuals in the Transport and Communications sector (11%) and those based in London (10%) were more likely to have used the checker 3 or more times.

The vast majority of claimants who used the eligibility checker more than once reported receiving the same results each time (87%). One in ten were not sure (10%), and 3% reported that they got different results each time.

3.2.3. Applying for the scheme

Nearly all claimants applied for both their first and second grant online (Table 3.5).

Figure 3.5: Method used to apply for grants

Question: How did you apply for the first / second Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant?

Method used to apply for grants	First grant	Second grant
Online	97%	98%
Telephone	3%	2%

Base (unweighted): First grant – all respondents (7,311), second grant – all who applied for the second grant (6,399). Less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’ or ‘Not sure’.

Self-employed individuals based in London were more likely to have applied for both the first and second grant by telephone, although this was still a small minority of claimants (6% and 5% respectively).

Among the small proportion of claimants who applied by telephone, the most common reason for doing so was because they had issues with their online application (59%) (Figure 3.6). This was more common amongst those who did not receive support from an agent to help them complete their application (66% versus 59% overall).

Figure 3.6: Reasons for applying via telephone

Question: Which, if any, of the following are reasons why you applied by telephone?

Reasons for applying via telephone	Percentage
I started applying online, but there was an issue with my online application	59%
I preferred to apply by telephone rather than online	25%
I am not confident using online services	10%
I was unsure how to apply online	10%
I would usually receive help to use online services, but none was available	4%
I am not confident accessing Government services online	2%
Not sure	2%

A very small number of claimants started a claim that they did not complete or submit to HMRC (2%, 95 respondents), before eventually making a successful claim. These respondents were asked to provide feedback on their reasons for doing this. The top reasons for this included not having all of the information/paperwork (16% of this group), having issues with the system (10%) and not being clear on what to do (10%). These findings should be treated with extreme caution due to the small sample sizes they are based on.

3.3. Previous use of HMRC online services

Eight in ten respondents (80%) had a Government Gateway ID before they made their Self-Employment Income Support Scheme application and almost 7 in 10 (69%) had used HMRC online services previously. Using HMRC online services previously was more common amongst claimants in the Professional and Technical Services (78%) and Public and Other Services (76%) sectors. Self-employed individuals in these sectors were also more likely than average to report finding the application process easy, and to find each step of the process clear. This suggests that their previous experience may have played a role in their positive rating of the application process.

4. Application outcome and contact with HMRC

Key findings:

• the majority of claimants had received both the first (98%) and second grant (92%) at the time of the interview
• most said they had not requested a review of their grant amount (88%)
• three-quarters of claimants did not contact HMRC about the scheme (76%), whilst 2 in 10 did (21%)
• those who were new to HMRC online services were more likely to contact HMRC about the scheme (25%)
• common reasons for contacting HMRC about the scheme included checking eligibility (32%) or finding out when the scheme would open (28%)
• HMRC were rated highly in terms of the ability to help with any queries on the scheme, with over eight in ten (85%) rating them as ‘good’ at resolving their issues and queries, including 73% who said they were ‘very good’
• over eight in ten had looked for or received information on the scheme (84%), the most common source of information was the HMRC pages on GOV.UK (43%)

4.1. Grant review

4.1.1. Review of grant

At the time of the interview, almost all claimants (98%) had received the grant from their first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme application. Over nine in ten (92%) of those claiming the second grant had also received this. Claimants were able to request a review of the grant amount during the application process. Almost nine in ten (88%) said they did not request a review of the amount of the grant that they were awarded, whilst 8% reported doing this. A full breakdown of these responses is provided in Figure 4.1 below:

Figure 4.1: Reviews requested of the grant amount

Question: Did you request a review of the amount of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant you were awarded?

Reviews requested of grant amount	Percentage
No	88%
Yes, for the first grant	2%
Yes, for the second grant	less than 1%
Yes, for both grants	5%
Not sure	4%

Net ‘yes’: 8%

Claimants based in London were more likely to report requesting a review (13%).

Amongst those who requested a review and received support from an agent, almost two-thirds (64%) requested the review themselves, whilst 2 in 10 (21%) had their agent do this for them. A further 10% reported that it was a mix of both, whilst 5% were not sure.

4.2. Contact with HMRC

4.2.1. Contact with HMRC about the scheme

Since hearing about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, three-quarters of claimants (76%) had not contacted HMRC about the scheme. Two in ten (21%) claimants said they had contacted HMRC in some way (Figure 4.2).

Figure 4.2: Contact with HMRC about the scheme

Question: Since hearing about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, have you contacted HMRC about the scheme in any of the following ways?

Contact with HMRC about the scheme	Percentage
No, I have not contacted HMRC about the scheme	76%
Through an online form in the eligibility checker tool/online app	16%
Telephone	3%
Webchat	2%
Through HMRC social media	1%
Post/letter	1%
Not sure	3%

Net contacted HMRC in some way: 21%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). This was a multiple response question, therefore the net score shown (21%) does not total the same value as the chart. Less than 1% chose ‘Email’, ‘Webinar’ or ‘In another way’, and less than 1% chose ‘Prefer not to say’.

Contacting HMRC in some way about the scheme was more common amongst claimants:

• in the Construction (24%) and Transport and Communications (29%) sectors
• based in London (32%)
• who did receive support from an agent when completing their application (27%)
• who were new to HMRC online services (25%)

Not contacting HMRC about the scheme was more common amongst claimants:

• in the Manufacturing (83%), Professional and Technical Services (82%), Public and Other Services (82%) and Agriculture, Quarrying and Mining sectors (87%)
• based in the East Midlands (82%), East of England (80%), North East (82%), South East (80%), and South West (83%)
• who did not receive support from an agent when completing their application (78%)
• who had used HMRC online services previously (79%)

4.2.2. Reasons for contacting HMRC

The top reasons for contacting HMRC were to ask about eligibility for the scheme (32%) or when they could apply (28%) (Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3: Reasons for contacting HMRC about the scheme (Top mentions)

Question: Why did you contact HMRC about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

Reasons for contacting HMRC about the scheme (Top mentions)	Percentage
To ask whether I was eligible for the scheme	32%
To check when I could apply	28%
To ask about how to apply	11%
To ask about using/registering for a Government Gateway ID	9%
Difficulty/issue when making an application	8%
To ask about the online eligibility checker	8%
Not sure	15%

Base (unweighted): All who contacted HMRC about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (1,420). 1% chose ‘another reason’ and 4% chose ‘prefer not to say’. This was a multiple response question, therefore the totals do not sum to 100%.

Self-employed individuals based in Yorkshire and Humber (47%) and those aged 65 and over (47%) were more likely to contact HMRC to ask whether they were eligible for the scheme. Those in the Public and Other Services sector were more likely to contact HMRC about their eligibility and when they could apply to the scheme (38% and 33% respectively). Claimants aged 35 to 64 (30%) were more likely to contact HMRC about when they could apply.

4.2.3. Rating of HMRC support

Overall, over eight in ten (85%) claimants who contacted HMRC about the scheme rated them as ‘good’ at resolving their issues and queries. This included 73% who said they were ‘very good’. Only 5% said their experience of HMRC was poor (Figure 4.4).

Claimants in the Construction sector (77%) and those aged 65 and over (81%) were more likely to report that HMRC were ‘very good’ at resolving their issues/queries.

Figure 4.4: Rating of HMRC for resolving customer queries

Question: Overall, how good or poor were HMRC at resolving your issues/queries?

Rating of HMRC for resolving customer queries	Percentage
Very good	73%
Fairly good	12%
Neither good nor poor	3%
Fairly poor	2%
Very poor	3%
Not sure/ prefer not to say	7%

Net ‘good’: 85%

Base (unweighted): All who have contacted HMRC about the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (1,420). 5% chose ‘Not sure’ and 2% chose ‘Prefer not to say’.

4.3. Other information sources

4.3.1. Other information sources

Over eight in ten respondents (84%) said they had looked for or received information on the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme. The top information sources were HMRC pages on GOV.UK (43%) and an email from HMRC (37%) (Figure 4.5).

Figure 4.5: information sources

Question: Have you looked for or received information on the coronavirus Self-Employment Income Support Scheme from any of the following sources?

Information source	Percentage
HMRC pages on GOV.UK	43%
Email from HMRC	37%
General media	25%
Friends and family	20%
Accountant/tax agent	20%
Discussed with other businesses	19%
TV shows about Covid-19	11%
Finance/money websites	9%
Devolved administration web pages	8%
No, not looked for or received information	12%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311), all those based in NI/Scotland/Wales (949). This was a multiple response question, therefore the figures do not sum to 100%. 4% selected ‘not sure’.

For each of the sources, different groups of self-employed individuals were more likely than average to have looked for or received information from them. For example, HMRC pages on GOV.UK were more likely to be used by those who did not have agent support while claimants who were new to HMRC online services were more likely to go to their agent for information. Further information on the key subgroup differences for different information sources is outlined below:

Table 4.1: Subgroup differences for different information sources

HMRC pages on GOV.UK (43% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Retail and Hospitality	49%
Professional and Technical Services	48%
Public and Other Services	50%
Individuals based in the South West	47%
Agent did not help with application	45%
Used HMRC online services previously	49%
Has a health condition	48%

Email from HMRC (37% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Professional and technical services	42%
Public and other services	39%
Individuals based in the East of England	41%
Used HMRC online services previously	41%

General media (25% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Manufacturing	32%
Professional and technical services	27%
public and other services	30%

Friends and family (20% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Public and other services	23%
Individuals based in London	26%
Aged 16-34	29%

Accountant/tax agent (20% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Retail and hospitality	26%
Agriculture, mining and quarrying	37%
Individuals based in the East of England	23%
New to HMRC online services	26%
Aged 65+	26%

Discussed with other businesses (19% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Public and other services	22%
Has a health condition	22%

TV shows about coronavirus (11% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Individuals based in Yorkshire and the Humber	16%

Finance/money websites (9% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Manufacturing	14%
Public and other services	13%
Professional and technical services	13%
Individuals based in the South West	12%
Used HMRC online services previously	11%
Has a health condition	12%

Devolved administration web pages (8% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Used HMRC online services previously	10%
Has a health condition	10%

No, not looked for/received information (12% overall):

More likely to be used/seen by	Percentage
Individuals based in Wales	18%
Those who did not intend to apply for the second grant	16%
New to HMRC online services	15%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311), all those based in NI/Scotland/Wales (949).

5. Experience of the application process

5.1. Customer experience of applying for the scheme

The survey respondents consist of those who claimed the first grant, and in most cases (87%) the second grant also. Respondents who had claimed both grants were asked to think about their combined experiences of claiming when answering the questions about customer experience and ease of applying covered in this chapter.

Almost all claimants (96%) rated their overall experience of applying for the scheme as good, with 8 in 10 (80%) saying it was ‘very good’ (Figure 5.1).

Figure 5.1: Rating of overall experience of applying for the scheme

Question: Thinking about all the steps that you had to take, how would you rate your overall experience of applying for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

Rating of overall experience of applying for the scheme	Percentage
Very good	80%
Fairly good	15%
Neither good nor poor	2%
Fairly poor	1%
Very poor	1%
Not sure/ prefer not to say	less than 1%

Net ‘good’: 96%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). Less than 1% chose ‘prefer not to say’ or ‘not sure’. The calculation used to produce the net ‘good’ figure includes rounding.

With highly positive satisfaction with the application process, there were few notable differences across the subgroups. Self-employed individuals based in the South East (84%) and those in the Professional and Technical Services sector (83%) were all more likely to rate their overall experience as ‘very good’.

Similarly, the majority of respondents (93%) reported finding applying for the scheme easy when thinking about all the steps they had to take, with two-thirds (66%) describing the process as ‘very easy’ (Figure 5.2).

Figure 5.2: Ease of applying for the scheme

Question: Thinking about all the steps that you had to take, how easy or difficult did you find applying for Self-Employment Income Support Scheme overall?

Rating of overall experience of applying for the scheme	Percentage
Very easy	66%
Fairly easy	28%
Neither easy nor difficult	4%
Fairly difficult	1%
Very difficult	less than 1%
Not sure/ prefer not to say	less than 1%

Net ‘easy’: 93%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). ‘Difficult’ consists of ‘fairly difficult (1%) and ‘very difficult’ (less than 1%). Less than 1% chose ‘prefer not to say’. The calculation used to produce the net ‘easy’ figure includes rounding.

As with claimants’ overall experience of applying, those in the South East and those in the Professional and Technical Services sector were more likely to report finding applying ‘very easy’ (both 70%) than claimants overall, as were those where an agent did not support their application (68%). Self-employed individuals who had used HMRC online services before were also more likely to say they found the application process ‘very easy’ (70%).

5.2. Clarity of the application process

Respondents were asked to rate the clarity of various stages of the application process, including when their application had been submitted, when payment would be received, and the date(s) from which they would be able to make a claim. Claimants were highly positive about each aspect of the process, with at least nine in ten feeling most aspects were clear. Claimants were slightly less positive about HMRC making the information they needed to make a claim clear before they applied, though the vast majority were satisfied (85%).

Table 5.1: Ratings of clarity of the process

Question: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your application(s) for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

HMRC made it clear when my application was complete:

Statement	Percentage
Strongly agree	77%
Tend to agree	15%
Neither agree nor disagree	2%
Tend to disagree	1%
Strongly disagree	3%
Not sure/ N/A /Prefer not to say	1%
Net: agree	92%
Net: disagree	4%

HMRC made it clear when payment would be received:

Statement	Percentage
Strongly agree	72%
Tend to agree	19%
Neither agree nor disagree	3%
Tend to disagree	2%
Strongly disagree	3%
Not sure/ N/A /Prefer not to say	1%
Net: agree	91%
Net: disagree	5%

HMRC made the date I would be able to make a claim clear:

Statement	Percentage
Strongly agree	71%
Tend to agree	19%
Neither agree nor disagree	3%
Tend to disagree	2%
Strongly disagree	3%
Not sure/ N/A /Prefer not to say	1%
Net: agree	90%
Net: disagree	5%

HMRC made the steps in the claim process clear:

Statement	Percentage
Strongly agree	70%
Tend to agree	21%
Neither agree nor disagree	3%
Tend to disagree	1%
Strongly disagree	3%
Not sure/ N/A /Prefer not to say	1%
Net: agree	91%
Net: disagree	4%

Before I applied, HMRC made the information needed to make a claim clear:

Statement	Percentage
Strongly agree	59%
Tend to agree	27%
Neither agree nor disagree	6%
Tend to disagree	3%
Strongly disagree	3%
Not sure/ N/A /Prefer not to say	1%
Net: agree	85%
Net: disagree	7%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311). Not sure, N/A and prefer not to say have been combined as individual values were >1%. Not all totals sum to 100% due to rounding, and the calculation used to produce the net ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’ figures includes rounding.

Certain types of claimants were consistently more likely to ‘strongly agree’ with the statements. This includes those in the Professional and Technical Services and Public and Other Services sectors, as well as those in the East of England, and those who had previously used HMRC online services (Table 5.4).

Table 5.2: Differences among claimant groups on clarity of the process (‘strongly agree’)

Question: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your application(s) for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

HMRC made it clear when my application was complete (77% overall) – ‘strongly agree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
Professional and Technical Services	81%
East of England	81%
Public and Other Services	80%
Used HMRC’s services previously	79%

HMRC made the date I would be able to make a claim clear (71% overall) – ‘strongly agree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
East of England	75%
Public and Other Services	73%

HMRC made the steps in the claim process clear (70% overall):

Claimant group	Percentage
Professional and Technical Services	74%
East of England	73%
Used HMRC’s services previously	72%

Before I applied, HMRC made the information needed to make a claim clear (59% overall) – ‘strongly agree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
Professional and Technical Services	62%
Used HMRC’s services previously	61%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311), Professional and Technical Services (1,471), Public and Other Services (2,221), East of England (807), Used HMRC’s services previously (5,220). There were no significant differences between any subgroups for ‘HMRC made it clear when payment would be received’.

Conversely, claimants in the North East were more likely to ‘disagree’ with the statements (Table 5.3).

Table 5.3: Differences among claimant groups on clarity of the process (‘disagree’)

Question: How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your application(s) for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme?

HMRC made it clear when my application was complete (4% overall) – ‘disagree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
North East	7%

HMRC made the date I would be able to make a claim clear (5% overall) – ‘disagree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
North East	9%

Before I applied, HMRC made the information needed to make a claim clear (12% overall) – ‘disagree’:

Claimant group	Percentage
North East	7%

Base (unweighted): All respondents (7,311), North East (208).

6. Technical appendix

6.1. Sample design

This report is based on the survey responses of 7,311 self-employed individuals who had claimed the first Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant (and 87% had also claimed the second grant). The sample of self-employed individuals was designed to provide a robust estimate of the behaviours, experiences and intentions of the claimant population.

HMRC provided Ipsos with a randomly-drawn sample of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimants, the profile of which matched the profile of the population of claimants overall (by sector and region). Using estimates from similar online surveys, and a pilot survey (see Section 6.2), Ipsos estimated the sample that would be needed to achieve a minimum of 6,000 completes to ensure reliable subgroup analysis across a range of characteristics (such as sector and region) and experiences (for example, satisfaction with the claims process).

6.2. Fieldwork

Ipsos carried out fieldwork using an online survey. In total, 7,311 interviews were completed between 24 August and 17 September 2020.

This consisted of 343 interviews undertaken during a pilot phase between 24 August and 2 September 2020 in order to estimate the response rate, to inform the sample size required to reach 6,000 completes. Five thousand Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimants drawn at random from HMRC records received an initial email inviting them to take part in the survey, and 2 reminders were sent to those who had not started, or who had not completed, the survey.

A further 6,968 interviews were then conducted during mainstage fieldwork, between 3 and 17 September 2020. As above, 90,000 mainstage respondents were sent the initial invite email and 2 further reminder emails. The second reminder email was only sent to those in Construction and Transport and Storage as response rates were lower among individuals in these sectors.

When completing the survey, individuals were asked to verify the information on the sector their business traded in, which HMRC provided to Ipsos alongside the sample of claimants to be surveyed. Where this differed from the sample, respondents were asked to update this information. The response provided during the survey was deemed most accurate and used for analysis.

6.3. Fieldwork outcomes and response rates

The survey received an unadjusted response rate of 7.7%. This is calculated by dividing the total completes (7,311) by the total sample issued (95,000).

It is important to recognise that response rates for online surveys are much lower than face-to-face or telephone approaches.

Minimising non-response by aiming for as high a response rate as possible is important to avoid (inadvertently) excluding certain groups from the final survey sample. This would introduce bias into the sample, thereby making it non-representative of the target population.

However, response rate alone is not necessarily an indicator of survey quality or the accuracy of survey estimates. Online methods work best where the target population has a high penetration of online users, and almost all claimants applied online (97% did so for the first grant and 98% for the second). In addition, high quality online surveys require both random probability samples and a sample frame with a high coverage of email contacts – both of which were available and implemented for this survey.

The final data were weighted to ensure they were reflective of the overall Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimant population, meaning that we can report on the overall findings and any differences by claimant group with confidence. The weights applied are summarised in the tables below.

Table 6.1: Weighting scheme by sector

Description	Weighted profile (%)	Sample profile (%)	Survey responses (%)
Accommodation and Food Service Activities	2.1	2.0	2.6
Administrative and Support Service Activities	7.4	7.0	8.8
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing	1.8	1.0	1.4
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation	3.1	5.0	7.8
Construction	34.2	22.0	24.2
Education	3.7	5.0	7.1
Financial and Insurance Activities	0.5	1.0	0.9
Human Health and Social Work Activities	4.1	7.0	7.8
Information and Communication	1.0	2.0	2.8
Manufacturing	2.2	3.0	3.0
Other Service Activities	7.3	6.0	7.5
Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities	4.7	9.0	10.0
Public Administration and Defence, Compulsory Social Security	0.2	<1	0.2
Real Estate Activities	0.4	<1	0.4
Transportation and Storage	8.9	9.0	9.4
Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles	5.3	5.0	5.2
Unknown	13.2	16.0	0.8

Table 6.2: Weighting scheme by region

Description	Weighted profile (%)	Sample profile (%)	Survey responses (%)
East Midlands	6.0	6.0	6.5
East of England	11.0	11.0	11.0
London	19.0	17.0	17.2
North East	3.0	3.0	2.8
Northern Ireland	3.0	2.0	2.0
North West	9.0	9.0	8.6
Scotland	6.0	7.0	7.1
South East	15.0	17.0	16.5
South West	9.0	11.0	10.9
Wales	4.0	4.0	3.7
West Midlands	8.0	7.0	6.5
Yorkshire and the Humber	7.0	7.0	7.0
Unknown	0.1	<1	0.1

6.5. Statistical reliability

The respondents were a sample of the total population of Self-Employment Income Support Scheme claimants, so we cannot be certain that the figures obtained are exactly those we would have if all in the population had been interviewed (known as the ‘true’ values).

However, the variation between the sample results and the true values can be predicted from the knowledge of the size of the sample on which the results are based, and on the number of times that a particular answer is given. The confidence with which this prediction can be made is usually chosen to be 95% – that is, the chances are 95 in 100 that the true value will fall within a specified range.

For example, based on a sample size of 7,311 responses, where 50% gave a particular answer, the chances are that the true value (which would have been obtained if the whole population had been interviewed) will fall within the range of ±1.1 percentage points from the sample result (meaning between 48.9% and 51.1%). In Table 6.3 below, we have included a few example subgroups to illustrate.

Table 6.3: Indicative maximum confidence intervals

	Applicable to percentages at or near: 10% or 90% ±	Applicable to percentages at or near: 30% or 70% ±	Applicable to percentages at or near: 50% ±
Total sample (7,311)	0.7	1.1	1.1
Used HMRC online services previously (5,220)	1.1	1.6	1.8
Retail and Hospitality (574)	2.6	3.9	4.3
North East (208)	4.1	6.3	6.9