Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether parents or guardians who cannot work because they need to provide childcare for a dependent as a result of that dependent being identified as a close contact of somebody who has received a positive covid-19 test are eligible for the £500 self-isolation payment; and if she will make a statement.

The Test and Trace Support Payment of £500 was introduced on 28 September, to support people on low incomes who are unable to work from home if they are told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and will lose income as a result.

If a child or dependent is self-isolating because they have tested positive, other household members will also need to self-isolate and will be able to claim under the scheme, provided they meet the other eligibility criteria. Parents or guardians of children or dependents who have to self-isolate because of contact with someone outside their household who has tested positive are not eligible.