Council funding shortfall due to self-isolation support

The TUC has reported that increasing demand for self-isolation support is leaving local authorities facing large funding shortfalls.

Demand for self-isolation payments is significantly outstripping the available funding, as 70 per cent of applicants end up without financial support. This is putting pressure on local authorities to either fill the gap themselves, reject applications from low-paid workers who need financial support to self-isolate or, in some cases, close schemes altogether.

The self-isolation payment scheme was introduced by government on 28 September 2020, six months into the pandemic, and offers a one-off £500 payment for those who need to self-isolate because of coronavirus but cannot work from home.

Local authorities use discretionary grants to support applicants who do not meet the strict government-set criteria for the main self-isolation scheme. According to the Resolution Foundation, seven in eight workers aren’t eligible for the main scheme, so instead, have to rely on discretionary payments.

The TUC has released new analysis based on freedom of information data collected from 175 councils across England, which shows that the amount of initial money provided by central government would not have been enough to meet the demand for around 50 per cent of English councils – let alone nationwide. The union body estimates that in early January there was a £28 million shortfall for the discretionary scheme – a gap that remains today despite recent additional funding.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “No one should be forced to choose between doing the right thing and being plunged into hardship. The current system of patchy self-isolation payments and paltry sick pay just isn’t working. Too many low-paid workers are going without the financial support they need to self-isolate – this is a gaping hole in the UK’s public health approach.

“The government could fix the problem tomorrow by offering decent sick pay to those required to self-isolate. Ministers must stop sitting on their hands and raise statutory sick pay to at least the real Living Wage. And they must ensure that everyone has access to it.”