I run a highly seasonal business that's dependent on public events, weddings and the like. Everything I'd planned to do this summer with the business has been cancelled; I'm doing some home deliveries but whether or not this will sustain me remains to be seen - the summer season is so crucial to the business, and I'm now having to factor in more petrol and more time as doing deliveries is time consuming.
I've fallen through every crack of government support on offer.
- Self employed income support grant (furlough equivalent) - can't get it because I only went self employed last year, despite having paid PAYE every year before that
- Universal Credit - like many others, I can't get it because of having some savings and / or having a partner still earning. Even if I could get it, it wouldn't cover even the basic outgoings on my very modest lifestyle FFS (Shared flat. In Wales). Note that no other form of coronavirus support is restricted on the basis of savings / partner income.
- £10k grant - can't get it because my business doesn't have premises - I've been running the business from home while in the start up phase; I had been hoping to take on business premises in future.
- Business Loan Interruption Scheme - can't start taking out loans because I'd have no way of paying them back (and I strongly suspect I'd be turned down for it anyway, as the majority of applications have been rejected).
- Welsh Government Economic Resilience Fund - can't get it as I'm not employing anyone else and I'm not VAT registered.
I'm not really sure what the government expect people like me to live on - thin air? Presumably I'm also going to be taxed more to cover the cost of the coronavirus support that I've been denied. It feels like everyone around me is either getting some nice time off work, fully or 80% paid, is working and being paid as normal, or is getting a nice cheque from the government. I am SO done with this lockdown shit already; I just want to go to the pub and drown my sorrows with my friends. I'm possibly being unreasonable but I just feel so forgotten and abandoned by the government.