Citizens Advice responds to Self-Employed Income Support Scheme

Dame Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:

"The government has rightly taken bold action to support the millions of self-employed people who could otherwise struggle to keep their heads above water during this national emergency.

"This scheme will understandably take some time to set up, so the focus should now be on cushioning people from an immediate financial shock.

"With the benefits system under immense pressure, bill holidays and a pause on debt collections could help to ease the strain on family incomes. We look forward to working with the government to make sure no one falls into unmanageable debt as a result of this public health crisis."

Notes to editors

  1. People can find frequently updated advice on a range of issues related to the Coronavirus outbreak at citizensadvice.org.uk/coronavirus.

  2. The availability of face-to-face services will be affected during the outbreak. If people need to speak to someone for advice, they should check our website for the status of their nearest Citizens Advice.

  3. Citizens Advice will continue to offer advice over the telephone on its Adviceline - 03444 111 444 - as well as online chat with advisers. Anyone seeking to make a new claim for Universal Credit should call the Universal Credit Help to Claim line on 0800 1448444

  4. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  5. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.

  6. We helped 2.7 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2018-19. And we had 29 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  7. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,600 service outlets across England and Wales.

  8. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.