Dear Mr. Sunak,

We are the newly self-employed, we have been left out of any support schemes during this crisis.

Through no fault of our own we are facing unprecedented hardship during this crisis, we have set up businesses within the last 18 months trying to better ourselves and are now faced with financial ruin. We are excluded from the government's SEISS, because many of us don't have a tax return for 2018/19, many have one that doesn't cover 6 months of said tax year, many more have only just completed their tax returns for 2019/2020, none of us are entitled to any financial support from the governments support schemes.

We do have tax records and are known to HMRC due to our unique tax reference number, and also through our previous PAYE records. We don't think it is right to exclude a huge number of newly self-employed from access to any funding on the premise, that this access could bring about fraud, after all the government let late filers of 2018/19 have a 4 month extension to file their tax return after announcing the scheme, so this could also be open to fraud.

All we ask is that we are treated fairly and on parity with others that have received help during this crisis, we are hard working tax paying citizens and have poured all our savings into starting up our businesses and need financial help urgently.

Many of us don't qualify for UC often due to a partner in the household working, yet we lost all of our income due to this crisis and we shouldn't be penalised for following the government's advice to stay home and save lives.

We are asking Rishi Sunak to review the SEISS to include newer self-employed on the basis of their 19/20 tax return, or their previous PAYE records. If this can not be done, we are asking for a grant scheme to be made available which addresses the lack of support for the newer self-employed.

We are looking to Scotland and note that this can be achieved, and we are asking of the same support from our government. We will be the businesses that will be still here after this crisis is over and we will be the employers of the future that will help build this country back up, but only if the government is willing to step in and help us survive as businesses, as households and as families during this most difficult time.

There must be justice for the newly self-employed, show us that you value the contributions we have made and will be making in future.

Yours sincerely

Self-employed people around the country