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A government proposal to pay £ 500 to everyone in England who tests positive for Covid-19 has been welcomed by a leading think tank, with some experts warning that it could act as “a reward” for people to contract the disease. .
The idea is described as the “preferred position” of Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s department and is part of a planned review of the self-isolation support scheme revealed by The Guardian.
George Eustice, the environment secretary, confirmed this Friday that the idea was under review and it is understood that it will be considered by the government’s coronavirus operations committee in the coming days.
However, other government sources downplayed this specific proposal, which would cost up to 453 million pounds a week, 12 times the current scheme, but acknowledged that a more generous support package is on the way.
The Resolution Foundation think tank said only one in eight workers is currently eligible for the £ 500 lump sum if they are told to insulate themselves. Currently, the main fund excludes many small business owners, sole traders, the self-employed, and parents whose children have been told to self-isolate.
Maja Gustafsson, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said: “It is very welcome that the government is considering radically extending financial support to those asked to self-isolate. With many difficult months ahead, it is essential that people are able to comply with the test and trace regimen without facing financial difficulties as a result.
“The current approach is not fit for purpose, with statutory sick pay among the less generous advanced economies and very few people eligible for maintenance payments of £ 500. The rapid implementation of a much more universal and generous system will mark a real difference in controlling the spread of the virus. “
The review has been prompted by a Cabinet Office survey that only 17% of people with symptoms present for testing, according to a “sensitive official” policy document produced by the Department of Health and Social Care. (DHSC) and seen by the Guardian.
Another survey conducted for the DHSC, discussed in the report, found that only one in four people reported compliance with self-isolation, with 15% going to work normally. However, in a survey conducted by the NHS Test and Trace in the summer, 58% of people said they did not leave their home during self-isolation and 88% said they had no close contact with anyone outside their home.
Professor Stephen Reicher, who is advising the government’s response to the coronavirus, said universal payments to self-isolate should form an “essential element of our pandemic response.”
The Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviors (Spi-B) advisor told BBC News: “You can’t have a bureaucratic system, you can’t have a system where people don’t know if they will get support or not, they have to be immediate. The way to do it is to make it universal. “
Duncan Robertson, from the Loughborough University School of Business and Economics, warned that the policy could have unintended consequences: “We need to make sure that people are incentivized to come in for a test, to isolate themselves if that test is positive and not to get infected to collect the reward. “
The DHSC policy document, dated January 19, minimizes this risk, stating: “It could possibly cause perverse incentives for some people who are not working to contract the virus in order to test positive and receive a payment of 500 pounds. sterling, but the probability of this happening is considered low. “
Professor Susan Michie, Director of the Center for Behavior Change at University College London and a member of Spi-B, said it would be very difficult to reduce infection levels without further support for those who cannot afford self-isolation: “There is a particular group of people who I think would need more than 500 pounds. But at least the government is recognizing that this is a key weakness in the entire pandemic strategy because if 82% of people with symptoms roam the community, it is very, very difficult to reduce this level. “
