Eligibility for £500 isolation support extended

Eligibility for the Scottish Government’s corona virus selfisolation support grant is being expanded, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The first minister said criteria for the £500 payment will soon include parents on low incomes whose children have been asked to self-isolate and people who would be eligible for Universal Credit, even if they do not claim it.

Under the current rules, employed people on benefits who have been asked to selfisolate can claim the money if they lose income as a result.

But Ms Sturgeon explained that from December 7, eligible parents of children under 16 who are unable to work because a child has to isolate would also qualify for the payment.

The expanded criteria will also include those who local authorities believe would qualify for Universal Credit if they applied.

Ms Sturgeon told the coronavirus briefing: “We don’t want anyone to feel that the y ’ re having to choose between self-isolating and feeding themselves and their family, so I hope today’s expansion of the support grant will help more people do the right thing if they or their children are asked to self-isolate.”

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We introduced this grant at unprecedented speed and I am grateful for the work of Cosla and councils to ensure it is up and running.”

Local authority body Cosla’s spokeswoman for community wellbeing, Councillor Kelly Parry, welcomed the changes and said: “By extending the eligibility for the grants, more people will be helped to stop the spread of the virus over the winter period.”