In support of the estimated 2 million small businesses that have not benefitted from Government Covid support since March last year, lobbying group #ForgottenLtd have been campaigning for help for the struggling small limited businesses and their directors. They are asking that the government extends Covid-19 support packages to small limited businesses that have now been left behind for 10 months. With this in mind a proposal for a Director’s Income Support Scheme (DISS) has been written, and is currently being considered by treasury. The proposal was written by Rebecca Seely Harris, with input from ACCA, and on 9th December Rebecca, ForgottenLtd, the FSB and ACCA presented the policy proposal directly to Jesse Norman and his HM Treasury team.

Running on the same parameters as the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS), the Director’s Income Support Scheme (DISS) is based on the trading profits of the company, which are contained in the corporation tax return, and could be self-certified because unlike the self-employed, the director of a limited company has certain duties in law. The director would only be able to claim for one directorship in the entity which they have the greatest income and must declare that they intend to continue to trade and either, are currently actively trading but have been impacted by reduced demand due to coronavirus; or were previously trading but are temporarily unable to do so due to coronavirus.

#ForgottenLtd also work alongside the Gaps in Support All Party Parliamentary Group www.gapsinsupportappg.org who are currently asking for individuals or businesses – whether self-employed, working as limited companies or any workers that have fallen through the gaps in the government’s financial support packages – to get in touch. They are asking for evidence from those who have suffered as a result of the pandemic in order to inform its recommendations to the Government.

Gaps in Support All Party Parliamentary Group is the largest APPG in history. Their membership of 262 MPs covers all political parties and parts of the UK. Their aim is to find solutions for those who have been excluded from Government Support Schemes during the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as ensure that lessons are learned to improve the UK Government’s response in the future. All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal cross-party groups that have no official status within Parliament. They are run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, though many choose to involve individuals and organisations from outside Parliament in their administration and activities.