Self-Isolation Support Grant: equality impact assessment

SISG Iterations

SISG has undergone a number of iterations since it was launched on 12 October 2020.

1. 7 December 2020, the grant was extended to include:

• Workers of families who are claiming Universal Credit (if they claimed it)
• Parents of children who are told to self-isolate
• Local authorities can use exceptional circumstances for late applications

2. 20 November 2020, the grant was extended to include:

• Those who do not have Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
• This ensures the same rules apply to someone who is required to isolate but cannot access the funds via the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) due to their immigration status

3. 2 February 2021, the grant was extended to include:

• Those on Council Tax Benefit
• Families not in receipt UC but within 25% of similar family
• Real Living Wage or lower
• Extending the application period to 28 days from the point of being told to self-isolate.

4. 2 May 2021

• Due to an outbreak in Glasgow, eligibility was extended to secondary as well as primary contacts in certain postcodes.

5. From May 2021, the grant was extended to include

• Seasonal workers from May 21.
• We explicitly created new guidance and the inclusion in the NRPF scheme.

6. In October 2021, the grant was amended to:

• To remove the need for fully vaccinated contacts to isolate as close contacts.
• The grant was changed to support the health policy and to ensure those who were not isolating were not eligible for the grant.

7. From 30 November 2021 to 10 December 2021, the grant was amended to reflect

• The health policy changed to support the increase in the Omicron variant.
• Omicron was added as a variant of concern for the purpose of the grant
• Eligibility was changed for vaccination and household status are irrelevant as all contacts are required to isolate.

8. From 11 December 2021 to 5 January 2021, the grant amended to

• Apply the household contact rules – vaccination status is irrelevant for household contacts, but relevant for non-household contacts.

9. From 6 January 2022 to 30 April 2022

• Apply the fully vaccinated rules – only positive cases and contacts over the age of 18 years and 4 months old who are not fully vaccinated are eligible.

10. From 1 May 2022 onwards

• Only positive index cases are eligible (no contacts, regardless of their vaccination status are eligible to apply as contact tracing ended on 1 May 2022).
• Parents/guardians of children under the age of 16 and carers of adults over the age of 16 remain eligible to apply for the grant if the child or adult they care for has tested positive for Coronavirus.
• The grant is one payment of £225 for the whole isolation period.
• Applicants can only receive the grant three times in any 12-month period. Any awards made prior to 1 May 2022 are not to be taken into account.
• All other eligibility requirements stayed the same for the grant including financial eligibility and the need for a positive PCR test.