Payments of £500 are available to residents financially affected by their child self-isolating.
Cumbria County Council is distributing more than £659,000 of Government funding to district authorities in the county to help low income residents who need to self-isolate because of COVID-19.
Currently, £500 Test and Test Support Payments are paid to eligible individuals on a low income, who have been instructed to self-isolate through the NHS Test and Trace service, as per Government guidance.
The Additional Discretionary Support Payment Scheme allows district authorities to make discretionary payments to people who will find it difficult to self-isolate for financial reasons.
While some of these people have been able to benefit from the national £500 Test and Trace support payment, not everyone is eligible, meaning some people in need have slipped through the cracks.
The Additional Discretionary Support Payment Scheme will enable district councils to extend the range of people who are eligible for support, doubling the number of local people who can be supported.
People will be able to apply for the grants through their local district authority.
Councils are currently putting arrangements in place.
The funding will be distributed across each district as follows:
- Allerdale: £128,000
- Barrow: £89,000
- Carlisle: £143,000
- Copeland: £91,000
- Eden: £70,000
- South Lakeland: £139,000
Stewart Young, leader of Cumbria County Council, said: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to make this funding available for local residents who need support. The scheme will allow district authorities to reach more residents, helping a lot of families to manage if they have lost income during the lockdown as a result of having to self-isolate.
“We know that for many people on low incomes the financial penalty of self-isolation can be significant, and not everyone in need qualifies for the national scheme. This funding helps fill that gap and supports people to stay at home and avoid spreading the virus further.”
Applications are now open for people living in Copeland.
Eligible residents will receive £500 per household, for each 10-day isolation period, and claims can be backdated to January 19, 2021.
Households must earn £26,000 per year, or under, to qualify.
Copeland Council – and all districts in the county – are being provided with this funding via Cumbria County Council.
Mike Starkie, Copeland mayor, said: “It’s great to see more funding available for residents who may previously have fallen through the net.
“This new funding allows the council to make sure that all of our residents are taken care of as the impacts of the current pandemic are still felt.
“If your child has been told that they must self-isolate, either through their school, or by the NHS Test and Trace Service, and you cannot work from home, and will lose money because if it, we may be able to help.
“The scheme is open to anyone who is on a low income and will lose earnings as a result of having to stay at home to take care of a dependent child or children, including the self-employed.
“I encourage anyone who thinks they may be eligible to go to our website and complete an application form and our team will make any verified payments as soon as possible.”
More information on the Additional Discretionary Support Payment Scheme – and an application form – is available at www.copeland.gov.uk/benefits
