6,088 apply for income support grant

APPROXIMATELY 6,088 applications in May and June, for the income support grant (ISG) which is being offered by the Social Development and Family Services. This was disclosed to Newsday by ministry officials on Thursday.

One official said, "We are still receiving applications, so it's not closed yet." A second official said the applications which have been received are being processed and, after that, payments will be made. A third official said the deadline date for applications is July 8.

On its website, the ministry said applicants for the ISG must have lost their income from employment/self-employment on or after May 1, in accordance with the covid19 public health regulations. Applicants must not already have an ISG.

Among the people who can apply for an ISG are people who were employed in bars, restaurants, the gaming industry and the entertainment industry.

On its website, the Finance Ministry said applications for its salary relief grant (SRG) close at midnight on July 9. The ministry reminded applicants that the SRG is to help people whose employment or income was suspended or terminated as a result of the public health restrictions implemented in May. For people in the National Insurance System (NIS), the ministry said the NIS will be administered by the National Insurance Board (NIB) on its behalf

The ministry said, "Once eligible, persons whose income was suspended/terminated at the beginning of May 2021, will receive $1,500 for the month of May and $1,500 for the month of June." The ministry said people whose income was suspended/terminated from May 8, 2021 will receive $1,000 for May and $1,500 for June.

The ministry said applicants must not apply for both the SRG and ISG, two financial measures introduced by Government to help people who were affected economically by the covid19 pandemic.

At a virtual news conference on June 15, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said mechanisms are in place to ensure there is full transparency in the distribution of covid19 relief measures and prevent any kind of fraud from taking place. "Our latest online digital portal has more security features built into that. So it is very, very difficult for a person to cheat in terms of our SRG" He said as far as the Social Development and Family Services Ministry's ISG is concerned, that ministry is improving its "detection mechanisms for who may be trying to cheat."

While some of those people slipped through the cracks last year, Imbert said, "What I am hearing is that we are doing much better. In fact, the total number of valid applications that we received for the month of May was 4,800 more or less."

Imbert said the Finance and Social Development Ministries collaborate closely on the distribution of both grants. He said if the same person applies for the SRG and ICS, that person is cancelled out.