18 May 2021 - Wales to trial basic income
Mark Drakeford approves universal basic income trial for Wales
Will Hayward (Walesonline, 17/05/2021)
Wales will conduct an experiment to see if giving every adult in Wales a fixed amount of money every month has a positive impact.
Known as universal basic income (UBI), the idea is that the government provides everyone with a minimum living wage.
This would be enough so that every person would be able to pay for all basic essentials, regardless of whether they have another form of income.
Wales to launch pilot universal basic income scheme
Steven Morris (The Guardian, 14/05/2021)
A pilot universal basic income (UBI) scheme is to be launched in Wales, the first minister, Mark Drakeford, has revealed.
The new minister for social justice, Jane Hutt, a close ally of Drakeford’s, will be asked to work on the pilot.
Under a UBI system, every citizen, regardless of their means, receives regular sums of money for life to cover the basic cost of living. Its proponents argue that it can alleviate poverty and give people time to retrain and adapt to changing workplaces, be more creative and become more active and engaged.
Welsh universal basic income pilot could focus on care leavers
David Deans (BBC News, 17/05/2021)
A proposed pilot for a universal basic income (UBI) in Wales could involve people leaving care, the Welsh government has said.
UBI would be a sum of money paid to everyone, which supporters say would ensure people do not fall through gaps in the benefit system.
Others argue it is not clear whether it would be the best way to ease poverty.
Explainer: What is a Universal Basic Income, and could it work?
Melanie Carroll (Stuff.co.nz, 18/05/2021)
What is Wales doing?
It’s hard to tell yet. Last week, it was revealed Wales would launch a pilot of the Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme. Work will begin on the trial, but not much in the way of detail has been released.
Twenty-five candidates who recently won seats in the Welsh Parliament had signed a pledge to lobby for a UBI trial, after a campaign by the UBI Lab Network.