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Universal Basic Income (UBI). It’s a topic that has generated many headlines in Wales in recent months.

The concept of UBI is simple. Everyone, regardless of their own particular circumstances, gets paid a set amount of money by the state on a regular basis.

According to the Senedd’s research and information service, the arguments for and against are broadly as follows:

The arguments for Universal Basic Income

• It is every citizen’s right – providing security from poverty and improving health and well-being.
• National income is distributed more equitably.
• Non-paid labour such as caring is rewarded.
• Workers get the freedom to choose what they do.
• Easier to understand than the current benefits system.

The arguments against Universal Basic Income

• It’s expensive – a full UBI in Wales could cost anywhere between £35 and 40 billion. The NHS budget in Wales is currently £8.3bn a year.
• It’s not targeted, so money goes to those who don’t need it.
• A huge shift from the current benefits system and one that could lead to a disincentive to work.

Tomorrow’s economy

There is also the threat (or opportunity?) of automation in the workplace. In the future, increasingly more jobs will be replaced by automation technology. According to analysis firm Oxford Economics, up to 20 million manufacturing jobs could be lost by 2030. And other industries are just as vulnerable – think about when you last used a self-service checkout at the supermarket.

Technology obviously brings a benefit of increased production – just look at the Industrial Revolution – but can we as a society reap those benefits by supporting those whose jobs have been replaced by automation? That’s where UBI could help.

Valuing the individual

But proponents of UBI argue that it is something more fundamental than pure economics.

The UBI Lab Network is an organisation of local groups putting forward the argument of a universal income.

Helena Hyatt helped establish UBI Lab Caerphilly.

The New Tredegar resident said: “This is not just for people with low incomes. The aim of work is to survive – if you are lucky then you do something you enjoy – but people don’t work their best when they are at the other end of the whip.

“UBI could flip that. People could work 100 hours a week – but doing something they love to do. It is about changing the relationship with work so you can do what you want. So much work is already unpaid – from the caring to the arts.

“For me, that’s what UBI is about – breaking the link between the need to survive and human activity. It values each individual in a society, giving them back their agency.”

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What’s happening about UBI in Wales?

First Minister Mark Drakeford quickly committed the Welsh Government to a UBI trial immediately after May’s Senedd election. So far, not many details have been released, but what we do know is that any trial could involve people leaving care. However, the Welsh Government is limited in its powers as the benefits system is not devolved in Wales. Any trial would have to work within the current devolution areas.

The think tank Autonomy published a briefing paper on UBI earlier this year and laid out plans on how a pilot could look.

It estimated that it would cost £99m over two years with 5,000 people taking part – half in a rural area and half in an urban setting. This would amount to 0.6% of the Welsh Government’s 2021/22 budget.

Helena, from UBI Lab Caerphilly, said the county borough would be suited for such a trial.

She said: “It is varied. It has areas of wealth and it has areas of deprivation. We think it is a good area to trial UBI for everybody.

“At the moment, all that is being proposed, or being considered, are care leavers. We are pushing for a whole trial because we want to test this out. When the results come in, we want them to be conclusive.”

UBI Lab Caerphilly is hosting an online event to discuss the merits of UBI on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm.
You can register online for the free event here. Caerphilly County Borough Council leader Philippa Marsden, Caerphilly Member of Parliament Wayne David, and Senedd Members Dawn Bowden (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) and Delyth Jewell (South Wales East) will be taking part.

There is also a Senedd petition to sign in support of a wider UBI trial to include a range of people. This can be signed online.

What’s happened with UBI trials in other parts of the world?

_{Source: Senedd Research}