Test and trace payments

Who can claim

Bolton residents may be entitled to a test and trace support payment of £500.  Payments will be made by the council, directly into your bank account. You must make a claim within 42 days of first having to self- isolate. You should claim if you:

  • have been asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or identified as a close contact by the NHS COVID-19 App.
  • have responded to messages received from NHS Test and Trace in which you provided contact details and where you have tested positive, the details of your contacts or if the NHS COVID-19 App has told you to self-isolate because you’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, you have followed the steps to request an Account ID.
  • are employed or self-employed and are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, and
  • are currently receiving, or are the partner of someone in the same household who is receiving;
    • Universal Credit
    • Working Tax Credit
    • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
    • Housing Benefit
    • Income Support
    • Income based Job Seeker’s Allowance
    • Pension Credit

 

From Monday 16th August 2021, if you are identified as:

  • a contact who is fully vaccinated, or
  • a contact under 18 years old

You will not be required to self-isolate and therefore would not be eligible to claim a test and trace support payment. However if you subsequently test positive or your child subsequently tests positive you can make a claim.

 

Parents or guardians 

Parents and guardians may also be entitled to a payment if they are not required to self-isolate themselves, but they need to take time off work to look after a child or young person who is self-isolating.  You should claim if you:

  • are the parent or guardian of a child or young person in the same household and need to take time off work to care for them whilst they self-isolate
  • are not required to self-isolate yourself
  • are employed or self-employed and are unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, and
  • are currently receiving, or are the partner of someone in the same household who is receiving;
    • Universal Credit
    • Working Tax Credit
    • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
    • Housing Benefit
    • Income Support
    • Income based Job Seeker’s Allowance
    • Pension Credit

The child or young person that is self-isolating must also be:

  • aged 15 or under (25 or under with an Education, Health and Care Plan) and normally attends an education or childcare setting.
  • self-isolating because they have been told to by NHS Test and Trace or by their education or childcare setting because they have been identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

 

School holidays 

Eligibility for parents and guardians is designed to cover situations where the child or young person who is self-isolating would normally be at school, nursery or another childcare setting during the week. 

This means that during the summer holidays:

Parents and guardians of school-aged children who need to self-isolate

  • are not eligible to claim if the child would not have been at school anyway at the start of their self-isolation period because the school is shut for the summer.

Parents and guardians of children sent home from other settings that may remain open during the summer, such as nurseries or special settings for 18-25 year olds with additional support needs

  • may still be eligible for a payment provided the child/young person who is self-isolating would have been attending the setting had they not had to self-isolate. Evidence of this will need to be provided.