Measures to help self-employed people through the coronavirus outbreak will finally be announced on Thursday afternoon.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will announce the long-awaited package at the daily Downing Street press conference.
Yet the self-employed face waiting several weeks for cash because the system will be so complex. It's understood they could even be waiting until the end of May.
Boris Johnson last night claimed there would be "parity of support" for the self-employed.
Yet it's understood there will be a "cap" on help for the self-employed, with the wealthiest not able to benefit, after their finances are likely to be assessed.
Conflicting reports today put that cap between £30,000 and £51,000. The level and mechanism of the system will only be confirmed this afternoon.
Meanwhile it's understood self-employed people will face a wait for cash due to the complexity of setting up an entirely new system.
The Sun today reports people will have to wait eight weeks - until the end of May. Officials contacted by the Mirror have not denied the report.
It comes after days of complaints that Britain’s 5million self-employed people have been left high and dry in the Covid-19 outbreak.
Self-employed people aren't eligible for either Statutory Sick Pay or an 80% wage guarantee scheme that's being offered to full- and part-time workers.
Instead they have been forced to claim Universal Credit.
The benefit has been made more generous to help them but has been inundated with 477,000 applications in five days.
That has left claimants sitting in online queues of tens of thousands of people trying to verify their identity.
Boris Johnson was already under growing pressure to help self-employed people and stop non-essential construction workers heading to building sites.
But there are still questions over what form the support will take. The PM said on Wednesday he wants "parity of support" for the self-employed and employed people.
That would suggest self-employed could have 80% of their pay funded by government - up to £2,500 a month.
But the PM's official spokesman then case doubt on this.
He said: "I think you will have to wait for the details of the announcement tomorrow." And he warned there were practical problems with bringing in the same system for both groups.
Speaking at PMQs, Jeremy Corbyn said one self-employed worker had “no other option” but to get on the Tube and go to work despite showing symptoms.
Labour’s leader said many people live “hand to mouth” and Britain’s 5million self-employed need extra help urgently.
“Why has it taken so long?” he asked. He said the DWP must get money to people who’ve “got to feed the kids, got to pay the rent, got to survive somehow.”
Mr Johnson promised “more in the next couple of days” for the self-employed.
But Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey admitted today: "There is no doubt it is very difficult tying to devise one scheme to try and fit 5million individuals."
The Prime Minister has faced calls from across the political spectrum for more stringent rules so workers are not placed at risk, and public transport is not overwhelmed.
But new government guidance today said electricians, plumbers, decorators and handymen can keep working in people's private homes despite the coronavirus lockdown.
Today's government guidance says: "Work carried out in people’s homes, for example by tradespeople carrying out repairs and maintenance, can continue, provided that the tradesperson is well and has no symptoms."
Tradespeople are advised to keep a two-metre distance between themselves and anyone in the home.
Conservative former cabinet minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith told BBC Two's Newsnight: "I think the balance is where we should delete some of those construction workers from going to work and focus only on the emergency requirements."
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester, told the programme: "This decision about allowing non-essential work appears to be taken for economic reasons.
"When actually - when you're in the middle of a global pandemic - health reasons alone really should be guiding all decision making."
