Extreme Poverty

Debate between Lord Fowler and Lord Young of Cookham

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler)]

I call the noble Lord, Lord Desai. No? In that case, I call the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham.

[Lord Young of Cookham (Con)]

My Lords, the Government introduced a welcome measure to help up to 4 million people on low incomes in September, offering a grant of £500 to those who had to self-isolate but could not work from home and therefore faced a drop in income. However, some of the local authorities through which this grant is routed are running out of funds, thereby prejudicing the success of the scheme. What steps can my noble friend take to ensure that those who are entitled to these grants get them?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The £15 million allocated for discretionary payments is a fixed envelope to cover cases of exceptional hardship that fall outside the scope of the main test and trace support payment scheme. In addition, the Government have made a range of other support available to those on low incomes who have to self-isolate. That includes changing the rules to allow claims for statutory sick pay, increasing the standard allowance of UC and the Self-employment Income Support Scheme.