Self-Isolation Support Grant: equality impact assessment

Update as of October 2022

The success of the vaccination programme and new treatments have helped reduce the severity of the impact of Covid-19. Whilst the virus did remain a threat, health guidance was changed on 1 May 2022 to reflect the new phase of the epidemic as outlined in section 10. We are hopeful that this threat will continue to reduce as we head into autumn/winter 2022.

Although what may happen in the future is uncertain and therefore there are a number of possible Covid-19 futures that could occur.

As set out on page 13 above, in developing this fund the Scottish Government has been mindful of the three needs of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) - eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not, and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

When reviewing the grant and deciding how we could continue to provide support to those who would need it, we were always conscious of the fact that as Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) would only be available from the fourth day of sickness, we had to ensure financial help could be provided during those first three days of unpaid absence. It also needed to be acknowledged that SSP is not paid to really low income workers.

Our decision to reduce the grant from £500 to £225 was based on a RLW calculation designed to meet the needs of socio-economic disadvantage groups as a result of the impact assessment of the policy change on the protected groups.

We know the impacts of Covid-19 have not been felt evenly throughout society. By ensuring this support remains towards those on low incomes, we are helping to provide vital support to those who require it. The value of the grant has been reduced, but this is to better reflect the health guidance to ‘stay at home’ for a shorter period of time and not to have to officially self-isolate. The reduced period of time is five days for adults and three days for children.

The three-cap application limit in a 12-month rolling period was introduced as the budget for the SISG had been reviewed. However, if applicants meet their application limit, they remain eligible to apply for a Crisis Grant (via the SWF) if they find themselves in financial difficulties due to following Covid-19 health guidance.

The decision to end contact tracing as of 1 May 2022 removed any eligibility for contacts. This will have an impact on those contacts who would previously have been eligible pre-1 May 2022. However, as unvaccinated and fully vaccinated contacts are now treated the same as each other, there is less disadvantage to either group. If a contact, or someone they care for, then goes on to have a positive PCR test result, they can apply for the grant independently.