Test and Trace Support Payment (Self-isolation payment)
The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme ended on 24 February 2022.
Anyone who was required to self-isolate on or before 23 February 2022 will have 42 days from the first day of their self-isolation period to submit a claim. You can check whether you are eligible for a support payment.
Individuals who stay at home if they test positive for COVID-19 or are displaying COVID-19 symptoms from 24 February 2022 may be eligible for other government support, such as Universal Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.
If you are experiencing financial hardship, you may also be eligible for a Local Welfare Assistance payment from Ealing Council.
There is a limited discretionary scheme available for those who meet the criteria outlined by the Government but are not in receipt of any benefits. This discretionary scheme is subject to the following additional criteria:
- In receipt of an average net earned income (either through employment or self-employment) of less than £270 a week in the five weeks prior to self-isolating
- Have less than £1,000 capital
- Must be responsible for housing costs such as a domestic mortgage or rent
- Must have no other form of income coming into the household, including any partner’s income living in the household.
Limited funding is available so only those residents who are able to demonstrate severe financial impact and demonstrate they will be in a crisis situation without a discretionary Test and Trace Support Payment will be considered.
Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis and you may be contacted to clarify information or to provide further evidence.
Once the discretionary funding has been allocated, no further discretionary payments can be made.
Applications are processed in date order. Current processing times are up to 20 working days. Please do not contact us about the status of your application unless this timeframe has expired.
Please provide all the required supporting documents at the time of your applications. Failure to do this will result in your application being rejected.
Can I help someone else make an application, or make an application on their behalf?
You can help someone else fill out an application or fill out an application on their behalf. However, you cannot receive payments on behalf of someone else. Payments will only be made to the person who has been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace.
Each application is for one person only and any further applications within the same household must be made individually.
Applications will only be accepted if you live in the borough of Ealing. If you are not an Ealing resident please apply through your local council.
If you are claiming as the parent or guardian of a child or young person who has been told to isolate, you must provide proof that they have been told to self-isolate by their school or care provider. We will contact the school or care provider to confirm this.
What do I need to do?
If you receive a Test and Trace Support Payment you must self-isolate as requested by NHS Test and Trace.
Fraud
You may face prosecution if you have manipulated or falsified your position in order to receive these payments, including failure to self-isolate which puts others at risk. Any payment made as a result of fraud may be subject to claw back, as may any grants paid in error.
The government is supporting local councils to make the necessary checks to ensure payments can be verified and have been made correctly.
Data sharing
The information you submit here will be processed by Ealing Council. We need your consent so that we can access your records in the NHS Test and Trace system to confirm that you are eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme.
You can find more information on this via the NHS Test and Trace privacy notice.
We will carry out checks with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), for verification reasons, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for tax reasons and with your employer. We will not share your data with other organisations or individuals outside of the council for any other reason.
We will provide information to HMRC about any payments we make because Test and Trace Support Payments are subject to tax. If you are self-employed, you will need to declare the payment on your self-assessment tax return.
We may use some automated decision-making to determine if you are eligible to access funds. This means that a decision may be made by automated means, without any human involvement.
Your rights under the Data Protection Act 2018 allows you to object to any automated-decision making used in this process. If you do, there may be a significant delay in the processing of your application.
We never sell your data to third parties or use it for marketing purposes without your consent. All information is processed in accordance with the council’s data protection policy.
If you wish to request any changes to the way your data is used for the purposes of processing this application, including the withdrawal of consent, you can do so under GDPR. For further information please visit the council’s data protection policy.
If you do withdraw your consent, we will not be able to continue payments to you. Your consent is necessary to establish your eligibility and to authorise any payments made.
In submitting an application, you must confirm that you have read, understood and consented to your data being processed in this way for the purposes of assessing your eligibility for a Test and Trace Support Payment.
The Test and Trace Support Payment scheme ended on 24 February 2022.