Martin Lewis: You Either Hate Him ...

At NTI we were on Twitter this morning desperately working out how to delete certain postings when one from Martin Lewis escaped the forefinger treatment and sparked our interest. On Friday 12 June the Government published the technical guidance for the second Self Employment Income Support Scheme and it clearly says that anyone applying for a second self-employment grant ... "must confirm that their business has been adversely affected on or after 14 July 2020". Oh

The second grant is for 70% of a self-employed person's average monthly trading profits (capped at £6,570 in total). This is the same criteria as the first grant, so the good news is that if a person was eligible for the first grant, they will be eligible for the second, but if not eligible for the first grant, well, you get it ... However, an applicant has to declare that their business was impacted by Covid-19 from mid-July onwards, but will not include those who were heavily impacted in June, but whose businesses have emerged panting from the gutter since.

Mr Lewis (who, coincidentally, spent just over £6,570 on self-publicity in June) rants (and even though his post was not typed in capitals, it was so clearly a rant) that the first grant was for those who businesses were impacted by Covid-19 before 13 July and the second, which comes in August, is for those whose businesses were seriously impacted by the pandemic on or after 14 July. If impacted before and after that date a self-employed person can claim both. If you were badly impacted in June, but had a bit of a respite and recovered a little at the beginning of July. What then? The Government announced the first grant covered March, April and May (but also now sort-of-June and half of July), so WHAT DOES THE SECOND GRANT COVER? (roared Martin).

Poor Rishi Sunak (the next James Bond), he must be reeling after that beastly savaging by the houseperson's favourite.