Enhanced discretionary test and trace support payment policy

Introduction

In response to the local Covid-19 position in Barnet the Council have set aside funding of £250,000 to provide an Enhanced Discretionary Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.

This scheme will be effective from 8 February 2021 and is to prevent those earning up to Barnet’s Living Wage, and who fall outside the Government’s test and trace support payment scheme, from falling into financial hardship.

There will be two elements to this enhanced scheme: (1) The applicant has been contacted by NHS Test and Trace and instructed to self-isolate and normally earns between £250 and £400 per week; or (2) The applicant is required to remain at home to care for a dependant child who has been instructed by their school to self-isolate.

This scheme is due to run until 31 March 2021 or until the £250,000 funding has been fully distributed, whichever is sooner. The value of awards for this scheme have been set at a one-off payment of £400 per 14-day isolation period.

Eligibility criteria

Instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace

The applicant must:

· have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because they have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive;

· be employed or self-employed;

· be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result;

· not currently be receiving Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit; and

· be earning between £250 and £400 per week and will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work while they are self-isolating.

Dependant child instructed to self-isolate by school

The applicant must:

· have caring responsibilities for a child who has been instructed to stay at home by their school, either because they have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive;

· be employed or self-employed;

· be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result;

· be earning less than £400 per week and will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work while they are self-isolating.

Exceptional circumstances award

An award of £400 for the isolation period may be given in exceptional circumstances outside of the above criteria at the discretion of the Assistant Director of Finance or Director of Resources where they deem an application would cause unnecessary financial hardship.

Backdating

Eligibility for this scheme is for people who are told to self-isolate on or after 8 February 2021 and who meet the relevant eligibility criteria.

Applications will not be accepted from people told to self-isolate before 8 February 2021, even if the period of self-isolation continues after 8 February 2021.

Applications from members of the same household

Where the instruction to self-isolate has come from NHS Test and Trace, people in the same household can each make an individual application to receive the payment, if they each meet the eligibility criteria.

Where the instruction has come from a dependant child’s school then only one member of the household can receive a payment and this will be limited to one payment no matter how many children are required to self-isolate.

Multiple claims

Some individuals or their dependant children could be asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the School more than once.

Someone can claim more than once, if they or their dependant children are told to self-isolate multiple times, as long as they meet the eligibility criteria for each individual claim and their periods of self-isolation do not overlap.

For example, if someone claims for a period of self-isolation lasting from 8 February 2021 to 21 February 2021 and then claims again for a second period of self-isolation beginning on 19 February 2021, they would only be allowed to claim once, because the two periods overlap. However, they would be allowed to claim for a second period of self-isolation that began after the first period had ended on 21 February 2021.

Applications made after someone’s period of self-isolation has ended

Eligible individuals can make a claim up to 28 days after the period of self-isolation ended, applications will not be accepted after this point: for example, if someone was told to self-isolate until 09 February 2021, they would have until 9 March 2021 to make a claim.

Third-party applications

Applicants can apply on behalf of someone else; however, the £400 must be paid into a bank account in the name of the person for whom the application is being made. For

example, if someone applied on behalf of a parent, the payment would be made into the parent’s bank account.

Applications outside of self-isolation criteria

Applications will only be considered from individuals who have a valid notification from NHS Test and Trace telling them to stay at home and self-isolate or a letter from their dependant child’s school instructing the child to self-isolate.

Applicants who are self-isolating and who:

haven’t been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, or
instructed to keep their dependant child at home by their school can not apply.

Application process

Applications must be made online via the council’s website and will include agreement that the applicant consents to all stipulated declarations. All applications must be supported by enough evidence to confirm that they meet the relevant criteria.

Applicants will have to provide:

· their name, address, date of birth and national insurance number and contact details;

· a notification from NHS Test and Trace asking them to self-isolate, OR a letter from their dependant child’s School instructing them to self-isolate;

· a bank statement (this must belong to the applicant and match the account where payment is to be made);

· proof of employment or, if they are self-employed, evidence of self-assessment returns, trading income and proof that their business delivers services which cannot be undertaken without social contact; and

· evidence that normal weekly income is between £250 and £400 where instructed by NHS to self-isolate, OR under £400 per week where a dependent child has been instructed to self-isolate by their school.

Applicants will be required to make a declaration that they cannot work from home and have seen a reduction in income because of self-isolation.

Payments will only be paid when all eligibility criteria have been suitably evidenced.

Determination of applications

Applications will be considered by a dedicated review team, overseen by The Exchequer Team.

Appeals

There will be no right of appeal against a decision not to award a payment, applicants who are turned down will not be eligible because they do not meet the criteria.

Barnet will work with applicants to make sure they provide the necessary evidence to support a successful application. For instance, someone who is self-employed may have forgotten to provide their self-assessment return in the first instance will be given a single opportunity to provide the missing evidence.

Policy review

This policy may be reviewed by the Director of Resources as necessary to ensure it continues to meet local requirements.

Combatting fraud

In order to ensure that Test and Trace Support Payments are not subject to potential abuse, all submitted applications will require a statutory declaration of truth, a statement regarding data processing and a recovery of funds statement.

This declaration allows for the council, through the Corporate Anti-Fraud Team, to carry out post-payment checks in order to give greater assurance that the funds were claimed correctly.

Furthermore, the declaration carries warnings which further allow the Council to consider taking criminal action against persons who have been found to have deliberately made false applications for the funding.

It also allows for the recovery of funds which have been paid which should not have been.

The award

It is intended that all applications will be processed within four working days of receipt of all required evidence and payments will be made via BACS only. Successful applications should expect to receive the funds in their accounts within seven working days of the fully completed application.

As funding is limited, any award will be on a first-come-first-served basis. The council cannot commit to funding further applications once