Self-isolation pilot boost for Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen has been chosen as one of the areas to take part in a new Government pilot to help people who have to self-isolate and stay at home.

The amount will see £2.5million funding across Lancashire – Blackburn with Darwen Council, Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council areas.

The funding will assist with self-isolation, when people receive a positive Covid test result or have to self-isolate following contact with someone who has had a positive test. It is separate to the existing financial support for self-isolation and is focused on other areas in which we can help people.

Blackburn with Darwen is one of nine areas nationally to receive this funding which will go towards a range of new plans to help families and individuals self-isolate in a safer and easier way.

A new working group has been set up to develop the plans to help people having to self-isolate, this will include identifying opportunities to support people in a home environment, improving data and technology approaches and further strengthening our Help Hubs and front line.

The self-isolation pilot programme also aims to help local authorities and their partners to learn from what works and what hasn’t to improve their response to any local outbreaks.

The funding will help Council staff and partners to work with people with Covid-19 when they are self-isolating, including being able to find the right help for them during their time isolating.

It will also encourage people to come forward for testing, particularly in areas of high transmission and variant of concern outbreaks. It will be focused mainly on areas and communities overly impacted by Covid-19.

This will include hyper-local support services, signposting to possible financial support and wider contract tracing.

Paul Fleming, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Strategic Director for Resources who led the bid for Lancashire, said:

We are really pleased to have been awarded this funding for Blackburn with Darwen and Lancashire and it will let us look at how best we can respond to the challenges for individuals and families who have to self-isolate.

We are working hard on our new project group following the Government’s announcement and we will be able to announce some more details very soon. It will hopefully help us to make the often difficult period of self-isolation easier and simpler for people in quite a few ways.”