Please see message below from Copeland Borough Council:

We are currently inviting applications for a new payment of £500 for parents who will lose income – or have lost income – as a result of their child having to self-isolate.

Currently, Test and Test Support Payments are only paid to eligible individuals on a low income, who are instructed themselves to self-isolate through the NHS Test and Trace service, as per Government guidance.

 The new Additional Discretionary Support Payment Scheme allows Copeland Council to make discretionary payments to parents and guardians who work and will lose wages through having to care for a dependent who has been instructed to self-isolate and cannot attend school or a childcare facility.

 Eligible residents will receive £500 per household, for each 10-day isolation period, and claims can be backdated to January 19, 2021.

 Households must earn £26,000 per year, or under, to qualify. Copeland Council – and all districts in the county – are being provided with this funding via Cumbria County Council.

 For more information on the Additional Discretionary Support Payment Scheme – and an application form – go to https://www.copeland.gov.uk/additional-discretionary-support-payment-scheme