People in Sheffield are confused about which Covid-19 grants they should apply for

The £500 grants are given to people on low incomes who will lose money because they are self isolating for a fortnight and can’t work.

The Government has made the money available and it’s distributed by the council.

Deputy Council Leader Terry Fox said there had been some confusion between the test and trace grants and another fund called the emergency assistance grant, which is for people struggling to afford food and other essentials but who are not self isolating.

He said: “We have received 376 applications for emergency assistance grants, two have been made and 14 are pending awaiting further information. The total value of the awards paid out is £704.

“We have declined 36, mainly because the applicant has applied for this grant instead of the test and trace support payment in error.

“We are contacting everyone who has done this and assisting them to apply for the test and trace support instead. ”

There has been criticism that the test andtrace grants of £500 are not enough to support someone for a fortnight of lost wages.

Director of Public Health Greg Fell told a recent meeting: “There’s a £500 payment available for two weeks but it’s not enough.

“If you have to isolate via the app, you don’t get the money which is a fault of the app. I hope this is being addressed by the Department of Health and the NHS track and trace.”

If people are told to self isolate via the track and trace app, they are not eligible for the grant due to a glitch in the system.

The Department said it was exploring ways to expand the payment scheme to include app users.

Coun Fox added: “We are reviewing the information on our website and on forms to see if we can make this clearer.”