Petition · past parliament

Introduce more help to sole traders and renters during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Rejected 21 signatures

What the petition asks

Rishi Sunak's announcement on Friday 20th March 2020 amounted to nothing more than £94.25 a week to sole traders through Universal Credit. Sole traders need more financial aid during this period of social distancing, particularly those in rented accommodation.
Sole traders already forego the benefits of those that are on PAYE. Many have seen their work disappear overnight with this crisis and the small amount of Universal Credit available to them is a help, but falls far short of meaningful aid.

Why it was rejected

There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.

You may wish to sign these petitions calling for the same action:

Coronavirus Support Package for Directors / Shareholders of small Limited Co's: Coronavirus Support Package for Directors / Shareholders of small Limited Co's.

Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown: Encourage lenders, landlords and utilities to freeze payments during lockdown

You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:

www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips

You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here:
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/

You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
 
Find out more and watch the Committee put questions suggested by petitioners to Government Ministers and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/145767/committee-question-deputy-chief-medical-officer-and-ministers-on-coronavirus-response/
 
Read letters asking further questions of Government Ministers: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/publications/3/correspondence/

Timeline

20 Mar 2020 Petition opened for signatures
20 Apr 2020 Rejected by the Petitions Committee

Key facts

Signatures 21
Status Rejected
Rejected 20 Apr 2020

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.