To ask the Minister for Communities to detail (i) the number of people refused the Discretionary Support Self Isolation Grant between 25 March 2020 and 31 October 2020; and (ii) a breakdown of the reasons why people were refused.

Applications are made to the Discretionary Support Scheme for help in response to immediate financial need with those needs then assessed and awards made accordingly – including needs associated with self-isolation due to Covid – 19.

Since the introduction of the self-isolation grant on 25 March 2020 my Department has processed 19,313 applications where self-isolation was found to be the underlying cause of the financial need, of which 15,570 Discretionary Support Self-Isolation awards were made totalling £2.1m.

Reasons why applications may not be successful will vary according to individual circumstances set against the eligibility criteria for the scheme.

There will also be duplicate applications and those that failed because contact with the applicant was not established.