Official Statistics

Self-Employment Income Support Scheme statistics: November 2021

Published 4 November 2021

1. Overview

This publication covers the fifth grant for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) administered by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) up to 7 October 2021. The information presented includes:

  • age of claimants
  • gender of claimants
  • sector of self-employment activity
  • geography (and by gender and sector)

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

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

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

The next publication on all 5 grants will be released on 16 December 2021.

2. Main findings

  • £28.1 billion has been paid in SEISS grants in total (up to 7 October 2021). Across the 5 grants 2.9 million individuals have received a grant and 10.4 million total grants have been claimed
  • Around 5.0 million individuals reported self-employment income for the tax year 2019 to 2020, and had their data assessed for potential SEISS 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
  • Via this process, 3.3 million self-employed individuals were identified as potentially eligible for the fifth grant. This is a similar size population as those potentially eligible for the earlier SEISS 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 (COVID-19) or have ceased trading since 2019 to 2020 so will not have been eligible
  • Not all potentially eligible individuals claimed the grant. 1.3 million (38%) of this population have claimed the fifth grant with the value of these claims totalling £2.8 billion.
  • The 1.3 million successful claims can be divided into those who received a higher grant (worth 80% of 3 months’ average trading profits capped at £7,500) and a lower grant (receiving 30% of 3 months’ average trading profits capped at £2,850). There have been 890,000 higher grant claims (71%) and 371,000 lower grant claims (29%)
  • Among female claimants, 79% claimed the higher grant. Among male claimants, 67% claimed the higher grant. The proportion of higher grant claims rises with age. Individuals in other service activities (87%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (84%) had the highest proportion of claims for the higher grant. The lowest proportions were in agriculture, forestry and fishing (48%) and construction (59%)
  • Around 500,000 people were brought into scope who either became self-employed in 2019 to 2020 or were ineligible for the first three grants, but became potentially eligible for the fourth and fifth grant based on their 2019 to 2020 tax return
  • There were 62,000 (30% take-up) claims by individuals that were newly self-employed in 2019 to 2020, meaning they did not trade in any of 2016 to 2017, 2017to 2018 or 2018 to 2019. 69,000 (24% take-up) claims were by individuals that were assessed for the third grant and found ineligible but then became eligible to claim based on their 2019 to 2020 tax returns. Some of the 69,000 individuals had not been assessed for the third grant as they did not trade in 2018 to 2019, but they had traded before 2018 to 2019 and began trading again in 2019 to 2020
  • For the fifth grant the average value per claim was £2,300. Around two-thirds of the potentially eligible population were male (2.3m). The average claim for female claimants was lower at £1,900 compared to the average claim for male claimants of £2,400
  • No single age group dominated take-up of the fifth grant, although take-up was notably lower among the over 65s at 25%
  • The sector with the highest number of potentially eligible individuals and the highest proportion of claims was the construction industry. By 7 October, construction workers had made 427,000 claims for the fifth grant, totalling £1.1 billion. Construction is the largest sector among the self-employed population with 1.2 million individuals assessed for eligibility
  • The two regions with the highest number of fifth grant claims were London (309,000) and the South East (171,000), reflecting their relative population sizes. London had the highest take up rate at 50%
  • Of the 1.7 million that did not meet one or more of the SEISS eligibility criteria, 1.4 million (84%) had trading profits less than non-trading profits (for example 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 increase on the 1.6 million individuals who were assessed as ineligible for the fourth grant in the July statistics

3. About this release

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) provided support for self-employed individuals whose business had been affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19). Applications for the fifth grant opened 29 July 2021 and closed 30 September 2021. To make a claim for the fifth grant businesses must have had a new or continuing impact from coronavirus between 1 May 2021 and 30 September 2021.

This grant was worth either 80% or 30% of three months’ average trading profits, paid out in a single instalment, and capped at £7,500 for the higher percentage or £2,850 for the lower percentage. These categories will be referred to as the higher grant and lower grant respectively. To claim the fifth grant, individuals had to compare their pandemic year turnover with that from 2019 to 2020 or 2018 to 2019, their reference year.

If turnover in the pandemic period was down by 30% or more compared to turnover in the reference period, the higher 80% grant could be claimed. Otherwise, individuals were eligible for the lower grant only. Newly self-employed individuals were exempt from the turnover test and were able to claim the higher grant. To be eligible for the fifth 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:

  • Have been actively trading at the point of claim but impacted by reduced activity, demand or capacity due to COVID-19, or
  • have been previously trading but were temporarily unable to do so due to COVID-19

They must also have declared that they:

  • intend to continue to trade, and
  • reasonably believe that there would be a significant reduction in trading profits compared to what they might expect absent the pandemic

The data used in this release covers claims for the fifth grant up to 7 October 2021. The claims window closed on 30 September 2021. This data has been matched with other HMRC data to present breakdowns of claims by:

  • gender
  • age
  • sector of the economy, and
  • geography

Information on the first four SEISS grants can be found on HMRC coronavirus (COVID-19) statistics page on gov.uk.

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

4. Total Self-Employment Income Support Scheme grant claims

To date, 2.9 million individuals have claimed at least one of the 5 grants. In total, £28.1 billion has been claimed across 10.4 million total claims. The claims window for the fifth grant opened on 29 July and closed on 30 September 2021.

Table 1 - Number and value of claims, and number of individuals claiming each grant to 7 October 2021

Grant Total no. of claims (000s) Total value of claims (£m) Average value of claims (£) Take-up rate
First grant 2,610 7,591 2,900 77%
Second grant 2,351 5,931 2,500 69%
Third grant 2,194 6,219 2,800 65%
Fourth grant 1,958 5,518 2,800 58%
Fifth grant 1,261 2,843 2,300 38%
All grants 10,373 28,102 2,700 -
Total number of individuals 2,897 28,102 9,700 -

Notes

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

5. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant claims and eligibility

Around 5 million individuals who reported income from self-employment were assessed for SEISS: 3.3 million of these were found to be potentially eligible and 1.7 million were found to be ineligible.

HMRC has received 1.3 million claims for the fifth grant of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) from a total potentially eligible population of 3.3 million. This represents a take-up rate of 38%. These claims totalled £2.8 billion with an average award of £2,300 per claimant.

Eligibility for SEISS is based on a customer’s tax returns for either:

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

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

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

Around 500,000 people were brought into scope who either became self-employed in 2019 to 2020; or were ineligible for previous grants but became potentially eligible for the fourth and fifth grants on the basis of having submitted their 2019 to 2020 tax return. The take up rate of the fifth grant to date among individuals who were newly self-employed or previously ineligible for the third grant is noticeably lower than the full population.

Table 2 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population, number and value of fifth grant claims to 7 October 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 2,852 1,130 2,587 2,300
Newly self-employed 208 62 141 2,300
Previously ineligible 286 69 116 1,700
All 3,346 1,261 2,843 2,300

Of the 1.3 million individuals who made a successful claim:

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

Table 2a - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, number and value of fifth grant claims to 7 October 2021, by grant category

Grant Category Total no. of claims made (000s) Total value of claims made (£m) Average value of claims (£)
Higher Grant 890 2,429 2,700
Lower Grant 371 414 1,100
All 1,261 2,843 2,300

Of the 1.7 million individuals who were assessed to be ineligible:

  • 84% (1,398,000) 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
  • 8% (132,000) were ineligible for other reasons

Individuals could be ineligible for multiple reasons and, as a result, there was a high level of overlap between the categories.

6. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant by gender

Figure 1 shows the number of claims for the fifth 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 SEISS, male claimants make up around two-thirds (65%) and make up a slightly lower proportion (68%) of the potentially eligible population.

HMRC has received 899,000 claims from male claimants totalling £2.15 billion compared to 361,000 claims from women for £694 million. Male claimants had a higher take-up rate than female claimants (39% compared to 34%) and their average grant value (£2,400) was higher than the average for female claimants (£1,900). Female claimants had a higher percentage of claims receiving the higher grant than male claimants (79% compared to 67%).

Figure 1: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme potentially eligible population and fifth grant claims to 7 October 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 fifth grant claims to 7 October 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 2,279 899 2,148 2,400
Female 1,747 1,066 361 694 1,900
All 5,011 3,346 1,261 2,843 2,300

Table 4 - Number and value of fifth grant claims to 7 October 2021, by newly self-employed and previously ineligible, and by gender

Gender Number of claims made by newly self-employed (000s) Value of claims made by newly self-employed(£m) Average value of claims made by newly self-employed (£) 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 44 108 2,500 49 88 1,800
Female 18 32 1,800 20 27 1,400
All 62 141 2,300 69 116 1,700

7. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth 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 the fifth 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 92% of claimants coming from this age group. Take-up of the grant in these age-groups was at or above 34%.

The take-up rate was noticeably lower for those who are aged 65 and over (25% have claimed), although they had the highest average claim value at £2,600 and the highest percentage receiving the higher grant (76%). The youngest age group had the lowest average claim value at £1,700 and the lowest percentage receiving the higher grant (64%).

Figure 2: The total potentially eligible population and number of claims to 7 October 2021 by age group

Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes

  1. Age is calculated at the date the fifth grant opened on 22 April 2021
  2. There is missing age information for 25,000 in the potentially eligible population

Table 5 - Potentially eligible population, number and value of claims to 7 October 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 (£)
16-24 163 111 40 67 1,700
25-34 849 633 264 580 2,200
35-44 1,089 796 331 752 2,300
45-54 1,160 828 317 715 2,300
55-64 1,063 717 241 557 2,300
65+ 649 236 59 154 2,600
Missing 39 25 8 18 2,200
All 5,011 3,346 1,261 2,843 2,300

Table 6 - Number and value of fifth grant claims to 7 October 2021, by newly self-employedand previously ineligible, and by age band

Age band (as at 22 April 2021) Number of claims made by newly self-employed (000s) Value of claims made by newly self-employed(£m) Average value of claims made by newly self-employed (£) 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 9 16 1,900 4 5 1,200
25-34 22 50 2,300 20 31 1,500
35-44 16 37 2,300 19 31 1,700
45-54 10 23 2,400 14 24 1,700
55-64 5 11 2,400 9 18 2,000
65+ <1 2 3,000 2 6 2,400
Missing <1 2 2,400 <1 <1 1,800
All 62 141 2,300 69 116 1,700

The proportion of claims for the higher grant rises with age as shown in Figure 2a. For those aged 65 and over, 76% of claims have been for the higher grant, compared to 64% for ages between 16 and 24.

Figure 2a: Higher and lower grants to 7 October2021 by age group

Table 7 – Proportion of fifth grant claims to 7 October 2021, by age and grant type

Age band (as of 22 April 2021) Proportions of claims for higher grant Proportion of claims for lower grant
16-24 64% 36%
25-34 67% 33%
35-44 70% 30%
45-54 71% 29%
55-64 74% 26%
65+ 76% 24%

8. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant by industry sector

(see Table 3 in the accompanying tables for further details)

Self-employed individuals were 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 had multiple sources of self-employed income the activity with the highest income has been used for the SEISS analysis.

Figures 3 and 4 show the SEISS populations and number of claims for the fifth grant made by industry sector.

The construction industry had 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 7 October construction workers had made 427,000 claims totalling £1,088 million; an average of £2,500 per claimant.

Self-employed individuals in the transportation and storage sector made up 8% of the potentially eligible population and made 153,000 claims totalling £290 million. Administrative and support services also made up 8% of the potentially eligible population and have made 86,000 claims totalling £137m.

The highest rates of being assessed as potentially eligible were from individuals working in the construction industry (85%) and transportation and storage (81%).

Lower rates of being assessed as potentially eligible 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%).

Agriculture, forestry and fishing had the lowest percentage of claimants receiving a higher grant (48%), with the construction industry having the second lowest percentage (59%). The highest percentages of claimants receiving the higher grant were found in other service activities (87%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (84%).

Figure 3: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims made to 7 October 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 8 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims made to 7 October 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 1,023 427
Administrative and support service activities 378 276 86
Transportation and storage 326 265 153
Other service activities 288 224 109
Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair 282 181 51
Professional, scientific and technical activities 388 177 52

Figure 3a: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims by newly self-employed individuals made to 7 October 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 8a - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims by newly-self employed individuals made to 7 October 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 59 22
Administrative and support service activities 20 5
Transportation and storage 17 7
Other service activities 13 5
Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair 8 2
Professional, scientific and technical activities 13 2

Figure 3b: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims by previously ineligible individuals made to 7 October 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 8b - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of fifth grant claims by previously ineligible individuals made to 7 October 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 71 23
Administrative and support service activities 21 5
Transportation and storage 19 7
Other service activities 16 5
Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair 14 2
Professional, scientific and technical activities 21 4

Figure 4: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant made to 7 October 2021, by sector; (smaller sectors not shown in figure 3)

Source: HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme linked to Self Assessment taxpayer information

Notes:

  1. 494,000 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 9 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant made to 7 October 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 306 156 39
Education 193 115 47
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 233 106 8
Arts, entertainment and recreation 181 98 41
Accommodation and food service activities 124 79 27
Manufacturing 115 75 25
Information and communication 66 36 11
Real estate activities 53 15 3
Financial and insurance activities 46 19 5
Public administration and defence 11 7 3

Figure 5 shows the average value of claims by sector which range from £2,900 per claimant in the finance and insurance sector to £1,600 per claimant in administrative and support services.

Figure 5: Average value of claims to 7 October 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:

  1. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
  2. 494,000 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 10 - Average value of claims to 7 October 2021, by primary industry of self-employment, ranked by average claim

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

Figure 5a shows the proportion of claims of the higher and lower grants by sector. This ranges from 48% of claims in agriculture, forestry and fishing for the higher grant to 87% in other service activities.

Figure 5a: Higher and lower grants to 7 October 2021 by sector

Table 11 – Proportion of fifth grant claims to 7 October 2021, by sector and grant type

Sector Proportion of higher grant claims Proportion of lower grant claims
Other service activities 87% 13%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 84% 16%
Accommodation and food service activities 83% 17%
Education 82% 18%
Transportation and storage 80% 20%
Professional, scientific and technical activities 74% 26%
Information and communication 73% 27%
Human health and social work activities 71% 29%
Administrative and support service activities 70% 30%
Manufacturing 69% 31%
Real estate activities 69% 31%
Public administration and defence 68% 32%
Wholesale and retail trade; vehicle repair 66% 34%
Financial and insurance activities 63% 37%
Construction 59% 41%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 48% 52%

9. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant by geography

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

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

Figure 6 shows the SEISS population and number of claims made by country and region.

London had the largest number of individuals that were assessed for eligibility (899,000), the largest potentially eligible population (622,000) and the largest number of claims (309,000) totalling £708 million.

England had the highest proportion of assessed individuals that were found to be eligible (67%), followed by Wales (65%), Scotland (64%) and Northern Ireland (63%).

The take-up rate varied across the UK with most nations and regions having a take-up rate between 34% and 39%. London had the highest take-up rate (50%) while the take-up rates in Wales and Northern Ireland (32%) and in the South West were the lowest (30%).

The percentage of claimants receiving the higher grant was very consistent across the UK, with each country and region (other than one exception) having between 69% and 72%. The exception was Scotland which had the highest percentage (77%).

Self-employed individuals in Scotland have made 75,000 claims totalling £177m; in Wales 45,000 claims for £95 million have been made and in Northern Ireland 31,000 claims for £67 million have been submitted.

Figure 6: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant made to 7 October 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:

  1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
  2. 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 12 - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant made to 7 October 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population

Region Assessed for potential eligibility (000s) Total potentially eligible population (000s) Total no. of claims made (000s)
London 899 622 309
South East 757 499 171
East of England 513 346 124
South West 495 318 94
North West 451 307 119
West Midlands 379 258 95
Yorkshire and the Humber 347 237 87
Scotland 324 207 75
East Midlands 320 216 74
Wales 215 139 45
Northern Ireland 152 95 31
North East 137 93 34
All 5,011 3,346 1,261

Figure 6a: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant by newly self-employed made to 7 October 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:

  1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
  2. 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 12a - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant by newly self-employed individuals made to 7 October 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility population

Region Total potentially eligible population (000s) Total no. of claims made (000s)
London 49 17
South East 29 8
East of England 20 6
North West 19 6
South West 17 4
West Midlands 16 5
Yorkshire and the Humber 14 4
East Midlands 13 4
Scotland 12 4
Wales 7 2
North East 6 2
Northern Ireland 4 1
All 208 62

Figure 6b: The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant by previously ineligible individuals made to 7 October 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:

  1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
  2. 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 12b - The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme population and number of claims for the fifth grant by previously ineligible individuals made to 7 October 2021 by country and region, ranked by size of assessed for eligibility

Region Total potentially eligible population (000s) Total no. of claims made (000s)
London 54 16
South East 42 9
East of England 29 7
South West 28 5
North West 26 7
West Midlands 21 5
Yorkshire and the Humber 19 5
Scotland 19 4
East Midlands 18 4
Wales 12 3
North East 8 2
Northern Ireland 7 1
All 286 69

Figure 7 shows the average value of fifth grant claims by country and region.

The regions and countries with the lowest average claim values were the North East, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and Wales (£2,100).

The South East, the East of England and Scotland (£2,400) had average claim values above the UK average of £2,300.

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:

  1. The allocation to location represents the individual’s address registered on their Self Assessment return
  2. 9,000 of the potentially eligible population could not be allocated to a NUTS1 region

Table 13 - The average value of claims by region, ranked by value

Region Average value of claims (£)
South East 2,400
East of England 2,400
Scotland 2,400
London 2,300
South West 2,300
UK average 2,300
East Midlands 2,200
Northern Ireland 2,200
West Midlands 2,100
Wales 2,100
Yorkshire and the Humber 2,100
North West 2,100
North East 2,100

Figure 7a shows the proportion of higher and lower grant claims by region. The proportion of higher grant claims was between 69% and 72% in all regions except Scotland (77%).

Figure 7a: Higher and lower grants to 7 October 2021 by region

Table 14 – Proportion of claims to 7 October 2021, by region and grant type

Region Proportion of higher grant claims Proportion of lower grant claims
Scotland 77% 23%
North East 72% 28%
North West 72% 28%
Northern Ireland 71% 29%
South West 71% 29%
Wales 71% 29%
Yorkshire and Humber 71% 29%
South East 71% 29%
East of England 71% 29%
East Midlands 70% 30%
West Midlands 70% 30%
London 69% 31%

9.1 Sub-regional breakdowns

Tables 4 and 5 in the accompanying data table pack provide a breakdown of fifth 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 claimed by each area.

The maps below illustrate how the take-up rate for the fifth grant to 7 October 2021 varied by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority. Darker shades indicate a higher take-up rate.

The key points to note for UK Parliamentary constituencies at 7 October 2021 are:

  • the London constituency of East Ham had the highest take-up rate at 67%
  • West Ham constituency had the highest number of claims for SEISS 5 with 12,500
  • in Northern Ireland, Belfast West had the highest take-up rate of 54%
  • in Scotland, Glasgow South West and Glasgow East had the highest take-up rate at 50%
  • in Wales, the Rhondda constituency had the highest take-up rate at 46%

The key points to note for UK Local Authority at 7 October 2021 are:

  • the London local authority of Newham had the highest take-up rate at 65%
  • Newham local authority had the highest number of claims for the fifth grant with 24,000
  • in Northern Ireland, Belfast had the highest take-up rate of 46%
  • in Scotland, Glasgow City had the highest take-up rate at 47%
  • in Wales, the Merthyr Tydfil local authority had the highest take-up rate at 43%

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 fifth 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, other services and administrative services had the largest number of claims overall and are shown as separate categories on the chart. Other smaller industries have been combined.

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

Individuals working in the construction industry accounted for the highest proportion of claims in every country and region of the UK. London had the highest proportion, with 42% of claims being from those working in construction and Scotland had the lowest with 25%.

The second largest sector by number of claims was transportation and storage. This industry accounted for 15% of claims in the North West. The lowest proportion of claims for this sector were in the South West (7%) and Wales (8%).

Figure 8: The proportion of claims received by 7 October 2021 in each country and region by primary industry of self-employment

Notes:

  1. The allocation to industry represents an individual’s highest earning self-employment
  2. 494,000 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 15 - The proportion of claims received by 7 October 2021 in each country and region by primary industry of self-employment

Proportion of claims by region and sector Construction Transportation and storage Other service activities Administrative and support service activities Other and unknown
London 42% 14% 4% 9% 31%
East of England 35% 11% 9% 7% 38%
Northern Ireland 34% 10% 10% 4% 42%
South East 34% 10% 8% 7% 41%
East Midlands 32% 9% 12% 6% 41%
West Midlands 32% 14% 9% 5% 40%
Wales 32% 8% 10% 5% 45%
North West 29% 15% 11% 5% 40%
Yorkshire and the Humber 29% 14% 11% 5% 41%
North East 29% 13% 12% 5% 41%
South West 29% 7% 11% 7% 46%
Scotland 25% 14% 12% 6% 43%

11. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth grant claims by gender and geography

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

The area with the highest proportion of male claimants in the potentially eligible population was Northern Ireland (73%) and the lowest areas were Scotland and the South West (64% each). A similar pattern is seen in the number of claims received by 7 October with male claimants accounting for 76% of claims in London, 74% of claims in West Midlands, 73% in Northern Ireland and 65% of claims in South West.

Since the average claim amount is higher for male claimants than female claimants as well, men account for an even higher proportion of total claim values. In the West Midlands (77%) and London (80%) of total claim values are from men. The lowest male share was in the South West where 69% of the total amount claimed was claimed by men.

Figure 9 shows the proportion of claims within each region by gender. The majority of claims for the fifth grant were made by men, ranging from 65% of claims in the South West to 76% in London.

Figure 9: The proportion of fifth grant claims received by 7 October 2021 in each country and region by gender

Table 16 - The proportion of claims received by 7 October 2021 by country and region by gender

Proportion of claims by region and gender Male Female
London 76% 24%
West Midlands 74% 26%
Northern Ireland 73% 27%
North West 72% 28%
Wales 71% 29%
East of England 71% 29%
North East 71% 29%
Yorkshire and the Humber 71% 29%
South East 70% 30%
East Midlands 68% 32%
Scotland 66% 34%
South West 65% 35%

12. Self-Employment Income Support Scheme fifth 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 7 October 2021 was reasonably consistent across all countries and regions except for London.

Between 41% (Scotland, Wales, South West and Northern Ireland) and 46% (the East of England) of the potentially eligible population in each country and region is aged under 45 except in London where 56% are under 45.

A similar distribution is observed for claims and claim value with the lowest proportion aged under 45 being in Scotland (43% of claims and 42% of claim value) and the highest being in London (58% of claims and 57% of claim value).

Figure 10: Age distribution of claims received by 7 October 2021 in each country and region

Notes:

  1. Age is calculated at the date the first grant opened on 22 April 2021
  2. The age for around 40,000 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 17 - Age distribution of claims received by 7 October 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% 14% 3% 0%
East of England 3% 21% 26% 24% 20% 5% 1%
South East 3% 20% 25% 25% 20% 5% 0%
East Midlands 3% 21% 25% 26% 20% 5% 0%
North West 3% 20% 26% 26% 20% 4% 1%
West Midlands 3% 19% 26% 26% 20% 5% 1%
Yorkshire & the Humber 3% 19% 26% 27% 20% 4% 1%
Northern Ireland 2% 17% 26% 26% 21% 5% 3%
Wales 3% 19% 24% 25% 22% 6% 1%
North East 3% 18% 25% 27% 22% 5% 1%
South West 3% 19% 24% 26% 22% 6% 0%
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, and
  • traded in the tax year 2019 to 2020, and
  • intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2019 to 2020, and
  • carried on a trade which had been adversely affected by 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 had been interrupted
    • they had fewer or no customers or clients
    • their staff were unable to come in to work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On 29 July 2021 applications for the fifth grant opened. The claims window closed on 30 September 2021. This grant introduced two levels of grant based on the reduction in turnover experienced. These two levels are either:

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

To be eligible for the higher grant, the individual’s turnover must have fallen by 30% or more between their reference year and the pandemic year. Newly self-employed individuals were not subject to the turnover test and could claim the higher grant.

The statistics presented in this release cover claims for the fifth grant in the scheme up to 7 October 2021.

More information about the fifth grant can be found on HMRC coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance and support page on gov.uk.

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 potentially eligible population are those who HMRC identified as being potentially eligible for a SEISS grant based on the information held from their Self Assessment tax returns relating to the tax years; 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. This is the group who have been invited to claim for a grant. This does not attempt to assess if a business was affected by coronavirus 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 criteria. Trading profits must be between £0 and £50,000 and at least equal to non-trading income.

For an individual to be found ineligible based on the income criteria they need to be found ineligible based on the 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax return and the combination of the relevant fields for consecutive tax years 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018, 2018 to 2019, and 2019 to 2020. Individuals are also included in the ineligible figures in this publication if an individual’s grant calculation resulted in an amount of £0 or less and if they are recorded as having ceased trading on the Self Assessment systems.

The number of claims is defined as the total number of individuals who had submitted a claim for a grant by the 7 October 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 fifth grant as of 7 October 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.

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

The claim information covers individuals who had submitted a claim for the grant by 7 October 2021 which had not been rejected or failed certain compliance checks.

15.2 Data sources used in this release

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

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

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

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

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

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 SEISS 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 SEISS claims received was previously 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 HMRC’s Survey of Personal Incomes individuals are considered as self-employed if HMRC received or expects to receive SA forms covering income from self-employment in their 2018 to 2019 Self Assessment tax return.  The population assessed for SEISS eligibility here includes only those individuals who submitted 2019 to 2020 Self Assessment tax returns by 2 March 2021 and included data on self-employment in that return.

16.4 Differences compared to other sources

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