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Support made available for Edinburgh’s newly self-employed

Posted: 30th April 2020

Newly self-employed workers in Edinburgh facing financial hardship because of coronavirus can now apply for help.

Managed by local authorities as part of a package of measures to support businesses, applications for the Newly Self Employed Hardship Fund have opened today (Thursday 30 April).

In Edinburgh, those who are eligible are being encouraged to apply online for a one-off grant of £2,000. Payments will start being made in early May to successful applicants who have provided all necessary information.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: “This money will come as welcome news to self-employed workers who haven’t been able to access support through other schemes. This hardship fund is for them, providing grants worth £2,000 to support their important work.

“There are many challenges facing our business community and we know what a difficult time this is. The measures we’ve implemented and supported as a Council have already provided close to £60m in support grants to help businesses stay afloat and millions more in non-domestic rates relief. The newly self-employed fund will help us to step up this work even more.”

Applications should only be made once and we will get in touch within 10 working days.

Depute Leader Cammy Day added: “This money will protect newly self-employed workers from falling through the net and instead provide them with critical funding to keep them in business.

“I’m pleased that the fund is now available to the people of Edinburgh and our officers will be working hard to turn applications around as quickly as possible over the coming weeks.”

To be eligible for the Newly Self-Employed Hardship Fund, workers must have started self-employment on or after 6 April 2019 and resident within this local authority area. Applications must meet all of the criteria detailed on our website in order to be considered.

Any self-employed workers who started trading before the 6 April 2019 are not eligible to apply for this scheme, but can find details of alternative support on the UK government website.

Further information on the support we have available to businesses and workers during the outbreak can be found on the City of Edinburgh Council website.

Business Comment

Business Comment is the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce’s bi-monthly magazine. It provides insight on Edinburgh’s vibrant business community, with features on the city’s key sectors, interviews with leading figures and news on new business developments in the capital.
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