More than £255,000 has been paid out in test and trace support payments on the Isle of Wight — although some people will be asked to give the money back.
From late September last year, £500 payments were available for those who were told to self isolate by NHS Test and Trace.
The scheme is still running and is for people on low incomes who were unable to work from home if they had to self-isolate and will lose income as a result. (Find out more here: gov.uk/test-and-trace-support-payment)
The Isle of Wight Council has been administering the support payments and has so far made 511 payments totalling £255,500.
When an applicant applies to the scheme, the council undertakes verification checks, such as confirming the applicants NHS account ID, a loss of income and their entitlement to a qualifying benefit.
A council spokesperson said all cases have gone through the same process to confirm eligibility and all checks were completed before the payments were released.
However, speaking at a meeting of the audit committee, the council’s chief internal auditor, Elizabeth Goodwin, said there are some cases where money has been requested back.
Checking more than 30 of the applications, it was found that ten did not meet the criteria eligible. Those ten payments could mean a potential £5,000 needs to be paid back.
Ms Goodwin said the grants were implemented at speed and at the time very little evidence was required to be submitted.
The tests carried out, Ms Goodwin said, were to verify an actual decrease in salary had occurred after the payment had been made.
Some employers had forced workers to take leave instead, or had given employees sickness pay.
Some people believed their salary was due to decrease but it may not have done.
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