More than four in five applications for £500 payments to help people self-isolate in Swindon have been rejected, figures suggest.
The grant is targeted at workers who are not eligible for the main Test and Trace support payment because they do not receive benefits and helps people with coronavirus on low incomes to self-isolate if they cannot work from home.
But figures obtained by the Labour party show more than 70 per cent of applications across England were rejected, as the government denied claims that it was planning to extend the payment to everyone who tests positive for Covid-19.
A freedom of information request showed 316 applications were made to Swindon Borough Council. Of these, 275 (87 per cent) were rejected and only 41 (13 per cent) were granted.