Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:02 pm on 17 November 2020.
The coronavirus isolation scheme has finally opened after much delay, but it will not provide much comfort for the parents of children who have to self-isolate. Only people formally told to isolate by the track and trace teams are eligible for payment, and this is no good for a parent without childcare who has to take time off work to look after a child who has been ordered to stay at home. There is also no right of appeal if an application is refused. Given the discretionary assistance fund is usually only applicable to people without savings and facing destitution, and that very few employers give paid leave to people to look after children, many parents will be facing poverty by the inflexibility of the coronavirus self-isolation scheme as it is applied in Wales. I keep arguing, First Minister, that you need to make it as easy as possible to enable people to self-isolate, so how are you going to remedy this particular problem?