Over 700,000 self-employed stop working

MORE than 700,000 selfemployed people have stopped working entirely in the latest lockdown, double the number during the first, a study from the Resolution Foundation shows.

The think tank said that the 700,000 is equivalent to 14 per cent of all self-employed workers. It found that people had stopped working in sectors across the board, not just nonessential retail, hospitality, and others that were forced to close by Government lockdown regulations. It estimates that 41 per cent of freelancers have experienced a 25 per cent or more fall in earnings during the current lockdown. That compares to 45 per cent during the first lockdown last year.

The Government launched the freelancers’ version of furlough, the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), last May but it paid out to those that did not need help and more to others than they had lost in earnings due to the pandemic.

Resolution says that although it is better targeted now, it is still failing to help a significant number of self-employed workers. It claims that 29 per cent or 1.5 million selfemployed workers have lost income due to Covid-19 but are ineligible for SEISS.

Hannah Slaughter, Resolution economist, said: “Eleven months into the crisis, Government support is doing a better job of targeting affected workers, though three in 10 are still missing out on support, despite losing income.

“The Government should extend the eligibility criteria for support to help those who are missing out, as well as clawing back money from workers who received grants during 2020 well in excess of the losses they’ve incurred during the pandemic.”

SEISS needs to be extended according to Resolution to include more of the workers that are missing out, such as the newly self-employed. It believes the cost could be recouped by reclaiming overpaid grants.

PHARMACEUTICALS group Kanabo, which produces what it says is the world’s first medical cannabis vape device, is to float on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

The Israeli company’s founder and chief executive Avihu Tamir said that it had originally wanted to raise £3million from its listing but instead it has taken £6million from investors.

He said demand from investors was so high the company could have raised £11million.

The money will be used to help bring both its cannabis vaping device and its wellness products to market in the UK, Germany and Israel.tamir said Kanabo will operate a “Nespresso” model with its vaping device, in that the majority of its revenues will come from recurring sales of its liquid cannabis cartridges.

Cannabis is normally consumed by smoking its flowers. Despite its pain relief properties, doctors are reluctant to prescribe anything that has to be smoked.tamir said: “We needed something that would address this issue, something that physicians would be comfortable with. Hence a product that mimics inhalation.”

He added listing on the LSE would boost its reputation and distance itself from concerns about cannabis.