Universal basic income set for first trial in England

© Reuters. Universal basic income set for first trial in England

Proactive Investors - A universal basic income will be trialled in England for the first time, with thirty people set to be paid £1,600 per month over a two-year period regardless of personal circumstances.

Researcher Autonomy is seeking funding for the pilot scheme, which “has the potential to simplify the welfare system and tackle poverty in Britain,” project lead Cleo Goodman said.

People will be drawn from central Jarrow, in north-east England, and East Finchley, in north London to participate, with the scheme testing the effects of basic salary being paid to everyone regardless of wealth or job.

A basic income will be “a crucial part of securing livelihoods in the future,” Autonomy research director Will Stronge said, “with the decades ahead set to be full of economic shocks due to climate change and new forms of automation”.

£1.15mln would be needed to fund the basic income payments, Autonomy said, with roughly £500,000 extra required for the costs of the research and administration.

“We’re hopeful that this plan will result in the first-ever basic income pilots in England,” Goodman, who founded Autonomy’s Basic Income Conversation programme, added.

“No one should ever be facing poverty, having to choose between heating and eating, in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.”

Questions have been raised over the prospect of a universal basic income, however, with critics arguing the payments would be extremely costly and could potentially fuel inflation.

The University of North Carolina also highlighted concerns over labour market participation and the prospect of wasting money on already-wealthy people in a 2021 report.

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