Coronavirus: New £500 grant for Scots self-isolating

A new £500 grant will be available to people on low incomes who will lose wages if they need to self-isolate.

Shirley-Anne Somerville has announced a new grant for people who have to self-isolate.

Nicola Sturgeon revealed that a Self-Isolation Support Grant would be launched on 12 October for those who contract Covid and can’t work at home.

At her daily briefing, the First Minister said employers should "play their full part" in making sure people can comply with self-isolation, but the grant would help those who would lose money if they had to stay at home for public health reasons.

She added the grant, which will be administered by councils through the Scottish Welfare Fund, was “for those who find it financially challenging or impossible to comply with self-isolation unless they have support – and the payment is important because self-isolation is important".

"We know self isolation is really tough, but it can be an especially tough thing to ask people on low incomes who may be less able to be able to work from home and more likely to be on zero-hours contracts or be on statutory sick pay,” she said.

“Fundamentally we must make sure that nobody feels they have to choose between doing the right thing by staying at home and feeding themselves and their families.”

The grant will be targeted at people who are in receipt of Universal Credit or legacy benefits, though there is “some discretion” to make awards to others in financial hardship.

Scottish Government social security secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Self-isolation can be tough, but it is essential to protect people and reduce the spread of coronavirus.

"To ensure people do not experience financial hardship as a result of doing the right thing, we are introducing this new £500 grant for people on low incomes who have been told to self-isolate.

“We want to do everything we can to support people throughout this challenging time and these payments will help ensure people do not have to make a choice between self-isolating and supporting themselves financially.

“While we continue to press the UK Government for clarity around consequential funding for the support scheme they recently announced, it is essential that we act swiftly so that people who need support are able to access it.

"I am glad that the scheme has the support of local authorities and that we have a means of delivering it from next month.”

The grant was supported by Cosla, the over-arching group of Scotland’s local authorities.

The body’s community wellbeing spokesperson, Councillor Kelly Parry, said the scheme would “help ensure those who are affected and qualify are looked after and won’t need to go to work, which will help reduce the community spread of the virus”.

“Councils have vast experience of providing local support of this type to communities and are the best placed to deliver this measure,” she said.

“We are keen to agree the details with the Scottish Government as soon as possible and look forward to getting much needed support to the people who need it.”

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