Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the effect of no regular social security income for people who have no recourse to public funds on the likelihood of those people (a) requesting a covid-19 test as per Government advice and (b) self-isolating due to the covid-19 outbreak.

We introduced the Test and Trace Support Payment (TTSP) scheme to support those where financial concerns can make it difficult to self-isolate.

We continue to work closely with the 314 local authorities in England to monitor the efficacy and payments made under the TTSP scheme. The discretionary element of TTSP is specifically designed to address the needs of people on low incomes, including those with no recourse to public funds, who need financial support for self-isolation and to encourage greater uptake of testing and to undertake self-isolation. We have provided an additional £20 million a month to extend the current scheme beyond 31 March into the summer.