The Welsh Government should broaden its proposed Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot, a Senedd committee has found.
In a report, entitled A UBI Pilot for Wales , the Petitions Committee concluded that the current scheme for care leavers "has merit", but a wider trial would allow policy makers to learn more about the impact of a UBI.
Universal Basic Income is the idea a government should pay all individuals a set salary, regardless of their means.
Last year, the country’s Labour government said it wanted to pilot such a scheme targeting some 250 care leavers by paying them an additional sum of money every month.
Proponents of the plans included those who believe UBI should apply to all citizens, and a petition submitted in August 2021 calling for an expansion of the pilot gained over a thousands signatures.
The committee, led by chair Jack Sargeant MS, invited a number of experts including Sophie Howe, the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Will Stronge, director of research at think tank Autonomy, Lydia Godden, Women’s Equality Network (WEN) Wales, and Ewan Hilton, CEO of mental health charity Platfform to give evidence on the topic.
It concluded that the government should consider increasing the size and diversity of the pilot scheme to provide more robust data, and ensure payments are guaranteed, unconditional, and paid to the individual, not the household.
It has also recommended the government makes every effort to persuade UK Government departments such as the Department of Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to support the widest possible pilot scheme.
While they said the pilot should be conducted by independent experts, include a control group and attempt to capture any indirect savings or costs that accrue as a result of the pilot.
"It’s clear from the evidence presented to us that broadening the pilot could have huge benefits," said Mr Sargeant.
"The Welsh Government should investigate increasing the number of proposed recipients and include care leavers from as diverse as possible a range of backgrounds, locations, and circumstances to give us the evidence we need to properly evaluate this scheme.
"While not all Members of the Committee support UBI, we all believe that a wider pilot scheme has the potential to produce richer, more persuasive evidence for the Welsh Government to consider.
"I would like to extend my thanks to the petitioners whose passion for tackling poverty shone through and should be commended, as well as all those who signed the petition."
Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, Sophie Howe, said: “I am fully supportive of the Welsh Parliament’s Petitions Committee report on a Universal Basic Income pilot and I am particularly pleased that it recommends that the pilot should consider all seven well-being goals.
“The introduction of a universal basic income could transform Welsh society and I look forward to seeing a pilot introduced by the Welsh Government so we can gather further evidence and data on the benefits of such a move.
“A pilot with care leavers is an important first step to further consideration of what a basic income for everyone could do to improve well-being in Wales.”
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