Benefit advice

The Government has announced measures to support people who have a loss in income due to being asked by national or local Test and Trace to self-isolate. If you are a Colchester resident and meet all of the following eligibility criteria, you are entitled to a financial support of £500.

Before you start your application

Check that you are eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment:

• You have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace on or after 28 September 2020 or identified as a close contact by the NHS COVID-19 App from 10 December 2020.
• You have submitted a Test and Trace Support Payment application form to us no later than 28 days after the first date you were required to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace Service.
• You are employed or self-employed.
• You are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result.
• You are currently receiving at least one of the following benefits: Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, and/or Pension Credit. *
• Partners living in the same household as someone in receipt of one of the seven means-tested benefits are eligible to claim from the main Test and Trace Support Payment Scheme.
• All applicants must have engaged with NHS Test and Trace service before they can be paid a support payment.

* You may be eligible for a £500 discretionary payment if you meet all the other eligibility criteria above, but you do not currently receive Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, income-based Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit and/or Pension Credit; and you will face financial hardship as a result of not being able to work while you are self-isolating.

Who is not eligible for the Test and Trace Support Payment:

• You do not meet the eligibility criteria.
• You are quarantining after travelling abroad (unless you test positive during the 14-day quarantine period).
• You continue to receive full wages while you are self-isolating.
• You can work from home during a period of self-isolation.
• You are no longer required to self-isolate.
• You have not received a notification from NHS Test and Trace telling you to self-isolate.

How to apply

This application is for one person only and any further applications within the same household must be made by each individual.

You should have the following information before starting your application:

• National Insurance number
• your 8-character NHS Test and Trace Account ID
• your bank details to receive payment if you are eligible
• a bank statement issued within the last two months which shows proof of earnings
• recent wage slips, if you are employed
• proof of self-employment, such as business bank statements issued within last two months, your most recent set of accounts, or evidence of self-assessment returns.

Test and Trace Support Payment policies

Colchester Borough Council will make the necessary checks to ensure payments can be verified and have been made correctly. There is no right of appeal and the decisions will be final.