Supporting affected individuals
- A three month mortgage holiday for those in difficult due to coronavirus. In the coming days, Government will go much further to support people’s financial security by working with trade unions and business to develop new forms of employment support to help protect people’s jobs and incomes throughout this period.
This is in addition to £1 billion worth of measures announced in the Budget last week, which includes:
- Increasing eligibility criteria for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – with doctors notes available via NHS 111. SSP will be able from day one for people who have COVID-19. This will cover those unable to work because they have been advised to self-isolate.
- Supporting those who are ineligible for SSP by giving people quicker and easier access to benefits. For those not eligible such as the self-employed and employees below the Lower Earnings Limit, the benefits system will be the best system of support. The Government will:
- Make it payable directly to people affected or self-isolating from the first day rather than eighth.
- Ensure people will be able to claim Universal Credit and access advanced payments without the current requirement to attend a job centre.
- Relax the requirement of the minimum income floor in Universal Credit for those directly affected by COVID-19 or self-isolating according to advice.
Government is also providing a £500m Hardship Fund so that Local Authorities can support the economically vulnerable and households in their local area. It is expecting most of this funding will be used to provide more council tax relief.