Tag: self isolation

Self-Isolation support extended

The £500 Self-Isolation Support Grant is being significantly extended to more people on low incomes.

The grant will be available to workers earning the Real Living Wage or less, as well as those in receipt of a council tax reduction because of low income.

People with caring responsibilities for someone over 16 who is asked to self-isolate, where the carer themselves meet the other eligibility criteria, can also get the grant.

In addition, the Scottish Government is lengthening the period during which people can apply for the Self-Isolation Support Grant. They will now be able to apply within 28 days of being told to self-isolate.

The changes will take effect from 16 February to allow local authorities time to change their systems and application forms, but eligibility will be backdated to 2 February. This means an additional 200,000 people will be eligible for the grant if they are asked to self-isolate.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Supporting people to self-isolate is critical to controlling the spread of the virus. We always said we would review this grant to make sure it worked for people who face financial hardship as a result of self-isolation. That is why we are making changes to considerably increase the eligibility of the grant to those on low incomes. 

“These are important changes and will be accompanied by a national and local media campaign to increase public awareness of support available. We know self-isolation is necessary to stop transmission of coronavirus, and recent research shows that 62% of symptomatic people and 80% of their close contacts comply fully with isolation guidance and I would like to thank them for this.

“While self-isolation can be difficult for everyone, we want to break down any financial barriers to complying. I am grateful to COSLA and local authority staff for their hard work to introduce these changes and offer support through the National Helpline and Local Self-Isolation Assistance Service to all those who need it.”

The Self-Isolation Support Grant is already available to low income workers who will lose earnings as a result of having to self-isolate, or having to care for a child under 16 who has to self-isolate.

You can call the Self-Isolation Support National Helpline on 0800 111 4000.

Government should use Job Retention Scheme to encourage self isolation, says new report

The Government should use the Job Retention Scheme (JRS) to encourage more workers to self-isolate at home – a key part of the strategy to fight Covid-19 that the current sick pay regime is failing to support – according to new research published by the Resolution Foundation.

The report – Time Out – explores the eligibility, generosity and efficacy of the UK’s statutory sick pay regime and Test and Trace payments during the Covid-19 crisis, and considers the case for reform.

It concludes that with self-isolating continuing to play a crucial role in fighting Covid-19 throughout 2021 as the vaccine is rolled-out, and with the Head of Test and Trace Dido Harding admitting that financial difficulty means some people are refusing to self-isolate, the current system needs to be replaced with a more effective regime.

The report notes that the main support available for employees asked to self-isolate at home is Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). But at just £96 a week, SSP offers the lowest level of Government support provided across any advanced economy during the pandemic. SSP replaces less than a quarter of a typical employee’s previous earnings, compared to an OECD average replacement rate of 60 per cent.

Furthermore, two million employees earning less than £120 a week are not eligible for SSP – a barrier that excludes one-in-four part-time workers, and one-in-seven workers in retail, hospitality and leisure – leaving them with no income at all if they self-isolate at home.

The UK Government has implicitly acknowledged the limitations of SSP by introducing £500 Test and Trace Support Payments (TTSP) for individuals entitled to benefits.

However, the report finds that these more generous payments are not reaching enough people, with only one-in-eight workers entitled to them. For example, data supplied by local authorities across West Yorkshire – an area which has had one of the highest infection rates in the UK over recent months – showed that just 1,783 payments have been made between 12 October and 25 November.

With financial support for self-isolating at home playing a critical role in helping to bring Covid infections down, the report calls for a more effective, generous and easy to deliver support regime to be put in place – using the JRS, Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

The Foundation proposes the following support:

  • Employees to be paid via the JRS. Extending the JRS to include self-isolation payments would ensure workers retained 80 per cent of their previous earnings. The Foundation estimates this would cost £426 million a month (up from around £112 million which is spent on SSP) if 643,000 employees used the scheme.
  • Self-employed workers to be paid pro-rata via the SEISS. Grants of up £830 should be awarded to self-employed workers who need to self-isolate for ten days, if they haven’t already claimed.
  • Self-employed workers not entitled to SEISS to be paid via enhanced ESA. The many self-employed workers not eligible for the SEISS are entitled to ESA. This payment should be uprated by £20 to £96 a week – in line with the uprating of Universal Credit – while people are asked to self-isolate.

The Foundation adds that while the following package of measures would help to get Covid infections down, the failure of the UK’s sick pay regime should not be forgotten once the pandemic has passed. Permanent reforms to both its eligibility, generosity and operation will be needed, it says.

Maja Gustafsson, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “Getting people to self-isolate at home is one of the important tools we have in combatting Covid-19. But asking workers to do that often involves a major financial sacrifice – and the UK’s sick pay regime has been woefully inadequate in providing the necessary support. Many more Covid infections will have taken place as a result.

“Coronavirus vaccines will take many months to roll out, so more workers will need to self-isolate at home to contain the spread of the virus next year. Given the failure of the current sick pay regime, the Government must turn now to the far more successful job support schemes to provide workers and firms with the financial support they need to do the right thing.”

Time-outDownload

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady commented: “The lack of decent sick pay has been a gaping hole in the government’s Covid strategy. Asking workers to self-isolate on £96 a week is not viable – especially when many don’t have savings to fall back on.”

She warned: “This problem needs fixing urgently. Until people are given sick pay they can survive on they will be forced to choose between following the health advice and paying their bills. Nobody should be plunged into financial hardship for doing the right thing.

“Sick pay should be raised to at least the rate of the real living wage and everyone should be entitled to it. It’s not right that two million workers are excluded from it because they do not earn enough.”

TUC polling published in September revealed that more than 4 in 10 workers would be plunged into financial hardship if forced to self-isolate for two weeks on SSP.

Help extended to parents of children self-isolating

The £500 Self-Isolation Support Grant is being extended to include parents on low incomes whose children are asked to self-isolate, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced yesterday.

The grant will also become available to those who may be eligible for Universal Credit, but have not yet applied.

Both changes will be introduced from 7 December.

Ms Somerville said: “We introduced this grant at unprecedented speed, and I am grateful for the work of COSLA and councils to ensure it is up and running.

“While self-isolation can be difficult for everyone, we know there are particular financial barriers to complying faced by some people. 

“We always said we would review this grant to make sure it worked for people who face hardship as a result of self-isolation. That is why we are making changes for some people who are not currently eligible. 

“We are extending it to parents of children aged under 16 who need to take time off work because their child is told to self-isolate, and also to people who are eligible for Universal Credit, but have not claimed it – providing they fulfil all of the other criteria for the grant.

“Supporting people to self-isolate is critical to controlling the spread of the virus.  These are important changes, and I am grateful to councils for their continued work to support those who can claim this grant.”

COSLA Community Wellbeing Spokesperson Councillor Kelly Parry said: “COSLA welcomes the Self-Isolation Support Grant being extended to parents and carers of children who have been asked to stay home from school because of the virus and that it will also include those with an underlying eligibility for benefits. 

“Council staff across the country have been working really hard to ensure the grant is accessible to people who have experienced a loss in income after being asked to self-isolate.

“By extending the eligibility for the grants, more people will be helped to stop the spread of the virus over the winter period.”

The Self-Isolation Support Grant provides £500 for low income workers who are in receipt of Universal Credit or other benefits and will lose earnings as a result of having to self-isolate.

Parents or carers of children under 16 who are asked to self-isolate, but who are not required to self-isolate themselves, are not currently eligible for the grant.

This is why the grant will be extended to those parents and carers, where they fulfil the other eligibility criteria:

  • employed or self-employed and unable to work from home
  • in receipt of Universal Credit or one of those which will be replaced by UC (legacy benefits)
  • facing a loss of income from looking after the child during the period of self-isolation

Only one claim per household can be made, where a parent or primary carer is required to look after a child who must isolate.

Eligibility will also be extended to people with a low level of income which means they would be entitled to Universal Credit.

Carrot and stick measures to be introduced to encourage self-isolation in England

New package announced to support and enforce self-isolation

People in England will be required by law to self-isolate from 28 September, supported by payment of £500 for those on lower incomes who cannot work from home and have lost income as a result.

New fines for those breaching self-isolation rules will start at £1,000 – bringing this in line with the penalty for breaking quarantine after international travel – but could increase to up to £10,000 for repeat offences and for the most egregious breaches, including for those preventing others from self-isolating.

For example, this could include business owners who threaten self-isolating staff with redundancy if they do not come to work, sending a clear message that this will not be tolerated.

A number of steps will be taken to make sure that people are complying with the rules, these include:

  • NHS Test and Trace call handlers making regular contact with those self-isolating, with the ability to escalate any suspicion of non-compliance to Local Authorities and local police;
  • Using police resources to check compliance in highest incidence areas and in high-risk groups, based on local intelligence;
  • Investigating and prosecuting high-profile and egregious cases of non-compliance; and
  • Acting on instances where third parties have identified others who have tested positive, but are not self-isolating.

Recognising that self-isolation is one of the most powerful tools for controlling the transmission of Covid-19, this new Test and Trace Support payment of £500 will ensure that those on low incomes are able to self-isolate without worry about their finances.

Just under 4 million people who are in receipt of benefits in England will be eligible for this payment, which will be available to those who are required to self-isolate from 28 September.

Local Authorities will be working quickly to set up these self-isolation support schemes and we expect them to be in place by 12 October. Those who start to self-isolate from 28 September will receive backdated payments once the scheme is set up in their Local Authority.

This financial support comes as the government places a legal requirement on people to self-isolate when instructed to by NHS Test and Trace and introduces tougher fines for breaking the rules.

Many people are following the rules around self-isolation, but these steps will make sure more do and help ensure the public do not unknowingly spread the virus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “The best way we can fight this virus is by everyone following the rules and self-isolating if they’re at risk of passing on coronavirus. And so nobody underestimates just how important this is, new regulations will mean you are legally obliged to do so if you have the virus or have been asked to do so by NHS Test and Trace.

“People who choose to ignore the rules will face significant fines. We need to do all we can to control the spread of this virus, to prevent the most vulnerable people from becoming infected, and to protect the NHS and save lives.

“And while most people are doing their absolute level best to comply with the rules, I don’t want to see a situation where people don’t feel they are financially able to self-isolate.

“That’s why we’re also introducing a new £500 Test and Trace Support payment for those on low incomes who are required by NHS Test and Trace to remain at home to help stop the spread of the virus.”

New payment for people self-isolating in highest-risk areas

People in England on low incomes who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 are to benefit from a new payment scheme.

  • Government to implement new payment for people on low incomes in areas with high rates of COVID-19, who need to self-isolate and can’t work from home
  • Payments of up to £182 to be made to people who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their contacts
  • Scheme to start first in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle, and Oldham

People on low incomes who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 will benefit from a new payment scheme starting on Tuesday 1 September, the Health Secretary has announced today.

Starting with a trial in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham to ensure the process works, eligible individuals who test positive with the virus will receive £130 for their 10-day period of self-isolation. Other members of their household, who have to self-isolate for 14 days, will be entitled to a payment of £182.

Non-household contacts advised to self-isolate through NHS Test and Trace will also be entitled to a payment of up to £182, tailored to the individual length of their isolation period.

It is designed to support people who are unable to work from home while self-isolating, either after testing positive, or after being identified by NHS Test and Trace as living in the same household as – or coming into contact with – someone who has tested positive. It will be available to people currently receiving either Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: The British public have already sacrificed a great deal to help slow the spread of the virus. Self-isolating if you have tested positive for COVID-19, or have come into contact with someone who has, remains vital to keeping on top of local outbreaks.

“This new payment scheme will help people on low incomes and who are unable to work from home to continue playing their part in the national fight against this virus.”

Payments will be provided within 48 hours of the eligible individual providing the necessary evidence. Individuals will be asked to provide a notification from NHS Test and Trace and a bank statement.

The local authority can also check the NHS Test and Trace system to confirm the individual has been asked to self-isolate, if the individual is unable to provide this information. The local authority will put in place checks to prevent fraud and ensure compliance through welfare check-ins, phone calls and employment checks.

There will be a rapid review of the scheme in Blackburn with Darwen, Pendle and Oldham to assess the performance consider how effectively vulnerable people have been reached, and consider how far it has helped reduce transmission of the virus in these areas. If the approach is successful, the scheme will be quickly applied in other areas of high COVID-19 incidence.

This will not reduce any other benefits they receive. This payment equates to:

  • £130 if an individual has tested positive for coronavirus and has to self-isolate for 10 days (from the point they first developed symptoms).
  • £182 if a member of an individual’s household has tested positive for coronavirus and they are asked to self-isolate for 14 days (from the point the member of their household first developed symptoms).
  • £13 per day (up to a maximum of £182) if an individual is identified as a non-household contact of another person who has tested positive for coronavirus and is asked to self-isolate up until 14 days after they were most recently in contact with the person who tested positive.

To be eligible for the funding, individuals must meet the following criteria:

  • Have tested positive for Covid-19 or received a notification from NHS Test and Trace asking them to self-isolate
  • Have agreed to comply with the notification from NHS Test and Trace and provided contact details to the local authority.
  • Be employed or self-employed. Employed people will be asked to show proof of employment. Self-employed will be required to show evidence of trading income and that their business delivers services which the local authority reasonably judges they are unable to carry out without social contact
  • Be unable to work from home (checks will be undertaken on all applicants) and will lose income a result
  • Be currently receiving Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit.

The TUC says the payment is nothing like enough, however,

Commenting on today’s (Thursday) announcement that the government is piloting payments of £13 a day to people on low incomes who need to self-isolate, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “These paltry payments will not make the difference needed.  

“Every worker should have the right to decent sick pay so they can help stop the spread of the virus. Ministers shouldn’t need a trial to know that’s the right thing to do. And sick pay must not become a post code lottery.  

“The sooner government gets on with delivering fair sick pay for everyone, the quicker we will beat this pandemic. 

“It should be at least as much as the real Living Wage – £320 a week – so everyone who needs to self-isolate can afford to.” 

Silverknowes Golf Club CLOSED

Silverknowes Golf Club issued the following statement last night:

We found out this morning that a member entered the clubhouse on Saturday morning for a very brief period of time, after having returned from Spain. He did not self isolate and we have been left with no other option but to close the club.

Myself and the staff have santised all of the clubhouse today but as a precautionary measure, we are closing the club for 72 hours. If you were in the clubhouse on Saturday and show signs of Covid please contact us as soon as possible so we may inform the track and trace team.

The club will be open for business on Thursday unless there are any repercussion from this.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter and I hope you appreciate that your safety and the staffs are paramount to us.

Regards

Carol

The Norhet Bar in Davidsons Mains has appealed to any customers who visited Silverknowes Golf Club on Saturday to stay away as a safety precaution.

Meanwhile, life in Aberdeen will begin to get back to something like normal this week ….

Following a SGORR meeting yesterday (Sunday 23 August) the First Minister has set out a timeline for the lifting of travel restrictions, limits on indoor meetings and the opening of hospitality.

A number of restrictions were lifted at midnight tonight so that today (Monday 24 August) Aberdeen will be broadly in line with the rest of Scotland. The five-mile travel limit, restrictions on gatherings and limitations on hospital and care home visits will be lifted.

Businesses due to open in line with the national route map can also reopen, with the exception of cafes, restaurants or any hospitality element within them.

These, along with restaurants, pubs, casinos and other hospitality premises, will be able to open from Wednesday 26 August, only once an environmental health check has been completed.

Hospitality business owners are being urged to get in touch with Aberdeen City Council if they have not already had an environmental health check.

The SGORR meeting included partners from Aberdeen City Council, NHS Grampian and Police Scotland, and heard the latest update from the Incident Management Team on the level of the virus and its transmission in Aberdeen.

The latest figures show a total of 427 cases have been identified in the Grampian Health Board area since 26 July. Of these 259 are associated with the same cluster linked to Aberdeen pubs, and 1,258 contacts have now been identified from those.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I am grateful to people in Aberdeen – the local authority and health board, local businesses, and everyone who lives there – for complying so well with the rules that were put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In particular I am grateful for the understanding of the businesses that were required to close in order to help beat the virus.

“It’s due to the commitment of people in the city, as well as world class contact tracing that means we are now able to lift some of these measures from Monday and then again from Wednesday, but it is vitally important that everyone follows the FACTS rules in order to prevent an outbreak of this scale occurring again.

“That way we can move forward and get our economy, our society and our lives generally back to as much normality as possible.”

Susan Webb, Director of Public Health for NHS Grampian said: “We must be cautious to ensure the progress we have made is maintained.

“Crucially, we must all be observing physical distancing from those not in our immediate household; whether at work, meeting socially, in a supermarket or out for exercise and recreation. It is also vitally important that anyone identified as a close contact of a detected case follows the guidance on isolating for 14 days.”

The Scottish Government has not ruled out extending restrictions if necessary to protect public health.

Remember FACTS for a safer Scotland:

F – Face coverings. These should be used in shops and on public transport (buses, trains and taxis)
A – Avoid crowded places.
C – Clean your hands frequently, using water and soap whenever possible.
T – Two metres – observe physical distancing.
S – Self-isolate and book a test if you are suffering from COVID-19 symptoms.