Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 16 October 2020.
Should the £500 payment to self-isolate be higher in London to reflect the increased cost of living in the capital?
Yes, it should. The level of payment must be sufficient to support Londoners to follow public health advice and keep their community safe. If the government support is insufficient we risk seeing people continuing to work and spreading the virus. A one size fits all rate inevitably doesn’t take account of the higher costs of living in London
I wrote to the Chancellor and Health Secretary in August to provide more support for employees who are required to self-isolate. In my letter I pointed to Germany where workers who are self-isolating are supported with payment equivalent to their net-wage. In the UK the weekly payment with Statutory Sick Pay is equivalent to the weekly gross pay for full time workers in England at the tenth percentile (2019). The tenth percentile in London is almost £43 higher at £389.10.
I also remain concerned about those on low incomes who are not eligible for support either from this payment or statutory sick pay. This could include people who can’t get a test to trigger the payment and those who aren’t eligible for benefits such as those with No Recourse to Public Funds. The government should increase the resource for local authorities to provide discretionary funding, so they can support those falling through the cracks. The Government should also launch an awareness-raising campaign for this support, which has had relatively low take up in the pilot areas.