The Scottish Government is demanding more support for self-employed workers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop and Finance Secretary Kate Forbes have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak, saying Scotland's 330,000 self-employed workers are critical to the economy and they must not be left behind in the response to the crisis.

Both are calling for the Jobs Retention Scheme the Chancellor announced last week to be expanded to include the self-employed.

They also appealed for a change in the rules to enable more people to access statutory sick pay.

In the letter, the ministers say they welcome the Chancellor's moves, but add: "It is clearly vital that the new scheme is up and running without delay, and we know officials in HMRC and other Departments will be working flat out to make that happen.

"It is also clear that further action must be taken to support groups who, so far, have not been given sufficient support.

"The action taken in other countries suggest there are credible mechanisms that can support the self-employed.

"In Norway and Denmark, wage support schemes have been extended to cover the self-employed by covering their lost incomes based on earnings in previous years."

The ministers say greater support could also be offered by relaxing means-testing for Universal Credit to ensure that the self-employed, whether with savings or other household income, are not denied support.

They add: "Of course, we recognise the complexities in delivering an effective approach - even if you cannot set out all the details now, it is vital that you signal your intention to act and we will work with you to develop any immediate measures."

Ms Hyslop and Ms Forbes add that to support the self-employed, there must be more action on sick pay to ensure that people follow the essential health advice, and they know they will be supported in doing so.