Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether each local authority will be provided with full funding (1) for all £500 self-isolation payments made, and (2) for all the administrative costs of running that scheme.

Local authorities have been given additional funding to enable them to make discretionary £500 payments to people who do not fulfil the main eligibility criteria but will still face hardship if they have to self-isolate. It is for local authorities to make decisions on applications for discretionary payments, based on the individual circumstances of the applicant.

We have worked closely with local authorities in England and we have provided an initial £50 million to cover their costs for administering the scheme as follows:

- £25 million to cover the costs of the support payment;

- £15 million for discretionary payments; and

- £10 million for administration costs.