Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will extend the eligibility criteria of the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment scheme to allow people who self-isolate with symptoms of covid-19 and subsequently receive a negative test result to apply for a proportion of that payment to cover the period from the beginning of their symptoms to the receipt of the negative test result; and what assessment she has made of (a) the categories of people in that position who are not eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), (b) the effect of the difference in daily monetary value between the self-isolation payment and SSP on the level of compliance with guidance to self-isolate when experiencing covid-19 symptoms; and if he will make a statement.

If an individual self-isolate because they have COVID-19 symptoms and they subsequently test negative for COVID-19, they will not be eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment. There are no plans to extend the scheme to people who do not have COVID-19 or are not a close contact of someone who has COVID-19.

It is essential that people self-isolate if they are displaying COVID-19 symptoms. People on low incomes who cannot work from home and are not eligible for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) may be able to claim Universal Credit, with the standard allowance increasing by £20 a week and the rules for the self-employed also being relaxed during the pandemic.

People may also be able to claim for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance, and the rules have changed to allow eligible individuals to claim from the first day of their self-isolation, rather than the eighth.