Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bethell on 14 December (HL11081), whether a local authority which (1) has used, or (2) is expected to use, all of the funding provided for the costs of discretionary £500 payments to people who do not fulfil the main eligibility criteria but will still face hardship if they have to self-isolate should (a) announce that the pot is empty and no more such payments can be made, (b) pay further applicants who qualify out of their own general funds, or (c) apply to the Government for further funding; and whether such local authorities can make a reduced payment to more eligible persons.

If a local authority has used all of its discretionary funding, it is a matter for the authority to decide whether to accept further applications or to use other sources of funding to make these payments. While local authorities cannot apply directly for further discretionary funding, the Government has increased provision to local authorities to make discretionary payments to £20 million per month from March 2021.The amount paid for approved applications under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme remains at £500 per case and as such local authorities cannot make a reduced payment.