The Welsh Government’s Self-Isolation Support Scheme and discretionary payment were making a difference to recipients’ financial circumstances resulting from the self-isolation period, and the financial support was welcomed. This is one of the findings from our recently published qualitative research for the Welsh Government, Financial challenges linked to self-isolation and perceptions of the Self-Isolation Support Scheme in Wales.
The research also concludes, however, that self-isolation had adverse impacts on the finances of many participants in this research and awareness of the scheme and discretionary payment was quite low. From a practical point of view, the online application process was not felt to be a barrier for most of those applying for support.
You can read more of people’s experiences here, as well as the Welsh Government’s internal review of its scheme here.