Think tank Autonomy is seeking funding for a two-year pilot programme of universal basic income (UBI) in England.
Under the proposed trial, 30 people would be paid £1,600 per month without any obligation to work. Participants would be drawn from Jarrow in north-east England and Grange, an area in East Finchley in north London.
The organisation has published a report – A big local Basic Income – where it outlines the arguments for a policy where all individuals receive a set salary every month regardless of their means.
Individuals receive the salary whether they decide to work or not, and supporters argue that it reduces poverty and inequality in the community, and benefits public health.
Furthermore, as artificial intelligence and technology transforms the nature of people’s roles and job design, it could “maximise the social benefits of automating labour”, according to Autonomy.
Universal basic income
In Scotland, four local authorities and Public Health Scotland explored the feasibility of a UBI pilot in 2020, but concluded it would not be possible as substantive and complex legislative, technical and delivery changes were needed.
The Welsh government has also indicated in 2021 it would trial UBI, having garnered support for the concept of UBI in the Senedd. Wales is currently running a pilot of UBI for care leavers, who receive £1,600 per month for two years and are able to work on top of their monthly stipend.
Autonomy claims that its pilot would be different from previous, government-led pilots as it would be led by the two communities and their unique circumstances.
A “micro-pilot”, as it is called, would collect new data on UBI in a UK context while demonstrating the impact of offering it on a community level.
Support for the pilot has come from door-knocking, workshops, roundtables and surveys with residents, it said. The pilot would also include a control group, which would not receive the payments but would take part in questionnaires, focus groups and interviews as part of the evaluation process. This group would be paid for their time.
The pilots will be led by local task forces of residents, a national steering group including representatives from the Basic Income Conversation lobbying organisation, and research partners from Northumbria University.
Autonomy has broken down the costs of carrying out a two-year pilot, estimating it will need between £1.64 million and £1.66 million.
The locations have been chosen because of their strong sense of community but also high levels of desperation. In Jarrow, 16.4% of working age people claim benefits compared with a regional average of 10.5%.
In Grange in East Finchley 55.5% of people are in the most deprived 20% of neighbourhoods by income, despite being minutes away from multi-million pound houses in Hampstead.
Will Stronge, director of research at Autonomy, said UBI would be “transformative for welfare in this country”.
“All the evidence shows that it would directly alleviate poverty and boost millions of people’s wellbeing: the potential benefits are just too large to ignore,” he said.
“With the decades ahead set to be full of economic shocks due to climate change and new forms of automation, basic income is going to be a crucial part of securing livelihoods in the future.”
Cleo Goodman, co-founder of Basic Income Conversation, added: “We’re hopeful that this plan will result in the first ever basic income pilots in England.
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“No one should ever be facing poverty, having to choose between heating and eating, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Basic income has the potential to simplify the welfare system and tackle poverty in Britain.”
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