Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Three mayors of England’s biggest cities have written to Rishi Sunak calling him to help the 3m self-employed excluded from Covid business support.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Liverpool mayor Steve Rotheram have urged the chancellor to help those who have fallen through the cracks of the self-employed income support scheme (SEISS).
Otherwise, warned Mr Burnham, England faces “a mental health pandemic on top of Covid”.
>See also: 1m self-employed face having to pay tax bill larger than what they earnt
It is estimated that 10 per cent of the UK workforce have found themselves excluded from Covid-19 support, according to pressure group ExcludedUK.
Mr Burhnam said: “We’re here together to send a message to the chancellor that it’s no exaggeration to say that jobs, homes and marriages are hanging in the balance … this is so wrong on so many levels”.
The Manchester mayor said the government’s cold shoulder for those who have just taken the plunge and gone self-employed, doing just what the government wants, sends the wrong message about becoming an entrepreneur.
Mr Burnham said that there were just days left to get the message across to the chancellor before his government spending