Self-employed support grants sent out to 100,000 workers, figures show
Workers in the Black Country and Staffordshire made nearly 100,000 claims for the Government’s self-employed support grants during the coronavirus pandemic, new figures show.
Thousands more were also furloughed in the region at the end of September.
But campaigners say millions across the country have been excluded from the schemes and ignored by the Chancellor’s Spending Review.
New figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show 22,100 claims were made in Dudley for either of the Government’s two Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grants before the end of October – worth £58.7 million.
Elsewhere in the Black Country, 19,800 claims were made in Sandwell, worth £47.6m, and there were 18,200 claims in Walsall, worth £47.7m, and 14,400 in Wolverhampton, worth £35.7m.
There were 7,900 claims in Stafford, worth £22.4m; 7,800 in Cannock Chase, worth £23.1m; and 7,800 in South Staffordshire, worth £21.9m.
HMRC figures also show 11,900 jobs were furloughed in Sandwell; 11,200 in Dudley; 9,600 in Walsall; 8,500 in Wolverhampton; 4,100 in South Staffordshire; 4,000 in Stafford; and 3,600 in Cannock Chase as of the end of September.
Across the UK, almost five million applied for the initial two SEISS grants, with claims totalling £13.5 billion.
At its peak in May, almost nine million jobs were furloughed through the Job Rentention Scheme. But ExcludedUK, a group campaigning for those left out of the support measures, claim three million are lacking support.
