Most people denied £500 self-isolation payments in Sussex, data shows

Data collected by the Trade Union Congress (TUC) reveals 70 per cent of applicants to the government's self-isolation payment scheme in the South East have been rejected.

The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme was introduced in September and offers a one-off £500 payment for those who need to self-isolate because of coronavirus but cannot work from home.

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To be eligible for the scheme, applicants must be on a low income or receiving benefits, or have a partner receiving benefits, or be facing "financial hardship as a result of self-isolating".

A quiet street in Worthing during lockdown

People apply for payments through their council and local authorities can use discretionary grants to support applicants who do not meet the government’s criteria for the main self-isolation scheme.

Freedom of Information requests submitted by the TUC show the majority of councils across Sussex had very low success rates for both the main self-isolation scheme and discretionary payments, as of January 6.

Eastbourne, Hastings, Lewes, Adur, Arun, Crawley, Mid Sussex and Worthing councils all had overall application success rates at 32 per cent or less - and Mid Sussex had the lowest, on 14 per cent.

Self isolation payments were originally due to end on January 31. The government recently announced an additional £20 million for the scheme, including £10 million for the discretionary payment scheme.

But the TUC said this is "too little too late" and uncertainty around the scheme has led to some councils holding back on paying our discretionary grants, for fear of an outbreak which could lead to money running out.

Applications for discretionary payments in Mid Sussex had a success rating of just five per cent, while nine per cent of applications were successful in Lewes and 13 per cent in Worthing.

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The TUC has also criticised the government for allowing some councils to run out of funding completely, having been forced to either fill the gap themselves to meet demand, or to reject applications from low-paid workers in need of support.

In Crawley, where there were 1098 applications, the council received £49,000 to make the main self-isolation payments but has paid out £116,000.

A quiet street in Crawley during the third lockdown

It has also run out of discretionary funding, having paid out £61,500 from an initial budget of £29,450.

Rother has also used up 98.8 per cent of its funding for discretionary payments and 91 per cent of funding for the main scheme.

TUC South East regional secretary Sam Gurney said the union is calling for statutory sick pay to be raised to the Living Wage of £330 a week and extended to all workers, to prevent hardship for those who cannot work and have to self-isolate.

He 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 in the South East are going without the financial support they need to self-isolate.

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“Local authorities have been working flat out to support residents since the start of the pandemic, but their resources are stretched paper thin. 

“The government could fix the problem tomorrow by offering decent sick pay to those required to self-isolate.

“Ministers must stop turning a blind eye and raise statutory sick pay to at least the real Living Wage. And they must ensure everyone has access to it.”

A government spokesman said: “This is an incredibly difficult time that has forced financial hardship onto many people and we launched the Test and Trace Support Payment to help people who cannot work from home to self-isolate.

“A total of £70 million has been made available to local authorities through the scheme and local councils are empowered to make discretionary payments to provide more support to those that need it most.

“We are working with England’s 314 local authorities to monitor the effectiveness of the scheme – including any impact on groups who may be ineligible for it.”