A new scheme to support people forced to self-isolate has been put in place in Wirral.
The local authority's Test and Trace Support Payment will provide financial assistance to people on low incomes who are unable to work while they are self-isolating because they cannot work from home.
People who are required to self-isolate and meet the benefits-linked eligibility criteria will be entitled to £500. This will be payable as a lump sum.
The scheme follows new laws, brought in on September 28 in England, requiring all those who test positive for Covid-19 or those identified as ‘close contacts’ to self-isolate.
While councils wait for permission from the department of health to process payments, Wirral Council has today opened applications to ensure residents can be supported as swiftly as possible.
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To be eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment, an individual must:
● Have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace either because they’ve tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
● Be employed or self-employed
● Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
AND
● Be currently receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit.
Anyone who meets the criteria and is asked to self-isolate on or after 28 September will be entitled to the new payment, even if their local authority had not yet established the scheme at that time. Where necessary, payments will be backdated from September 28.
Cllr Janette Williamson, leader of Wirral Council, said: “Ensuring that Wirral residents who need to self-isolate, are able to, is vital to reducing the spread of COVID-19 - across our borough and indeed the rest of the country.
“Protecting yourself and those around you from coronavirus or being able to put food on the table shouldn’t be a choice that anyone has to make.
“We need everyone who tests positive or who is asked to isolate by NHS Test and Trace or Wirral Public Health to do the right thing and stay at home to avoid spreading the virus to others.
“The new scheme will support those on low incomes to do this and help protect our most vulnerable.”
The scheme is expected to run until January 31, 2021 and will apply to people notified to self-isolate on or after 28 September, not before that date.
A discretionary fund also allows for applications from individuals who are not on any of the stated benefits, but meet all of the other criteria and will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work whilst self-isolating.
Successful applicants will also be awarded £500, payable as a lump sum.
Wirral residents can read local FAQs and apply for the scheme online here.
