Government help for the newly self-employed in Scotland

Who is this for?

The newly self-employed do not qualify for the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), so the Government has set up the Newly Self-employed Hardship Fund as an alternative scheme. This fund is specifically for those people who became self-employed on or after 6 April 2019.

To be eligible you must:

have become self-employed on or after 6 April 2019
have lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic
have not been able to access support through other COVID-19 business support schemes

Successful applicants will receive a one-off payment of £2,000.

Where do I apply for this fund?

You need to apply in your Local Authority.

You will be asked to provide documentary evidence of your status and eligibility for the grant. The criteria has been set out by the Scottish Government and each local authority will operate their own fund.

You will need to provide:

documentation to show you had an active business prior to COVID-19, such as your VAT registration, bank account statements showing revenue and outgoings linked to self-employment, marketing materials, etc. A full list is provided with the application form.
self-declaration that you are currently experiencing hardship
evidence of being resident in the local authority area of application

Am I eligible?

You must sign a declaration confirming that you meet all of the following criteria:

you became self-employed on/after 6 April 2019 (did not submit a tax return including income from self-employment for 2018-19)
over 50% of your individual income is from self-employment
your trading profits were below £50,000 in financial year 2019-20
you have lost business due to coronavirus and are suffering financial hardship as a result
you are ineligible for other COVID-19 related business support (including the Business Interruption Loan Schemes, Corporate Finance Fund, Job Retention Schemes, Future Fund, R&D Focussed SMEs Fund, HMRC Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, Non-Domestic Rates relief, Small Business Grant or other business support)
you do not receive working age benefit payments (Universal Credit, Statutory Sick Pay, Employment and Support Allowance, Job Seekers’ Allowance, Income Support) or have applied for but not yet started receiving Universal Credit or an advanced payment of Universal Credit
you trade as self-employed, not as a limited company. If in a partnership, you are self-employed for pay and tax purposes
you have taken steps to limit costs and expenditure (including through schemes such as VAT deferral and seeking a mortgage payment holiday)
you do not have access to sufficient savings or other sources of income to meet basic needs