Universal Basic Income - Close to Being Trialled in Hull

UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME - is new scheme that has already been trialled in Finland.

If introduced, Universal Basic Income (UBI) would give every person a fixed, untaxed sum - which could be up to £100 a week - to live on, whether they are rich or poor, in work or unemployed.

UBI would replace some existing social security benefits and there would be no pressure for job seekers to prove they are trying to get a job. It has been argued that endlessly pressurizing claimants to find work and threatening and implementing sanctions makes no difference to whether people get into work or not. Endless visits to see a work coach at the Jobcentre Plus offices has little if any real  benefit.

Plans for it to be piloted in Hull moved a step closer when Hull City Council chief executive Matt Jukes wrote to the Chancellor Sajid Javid to ask for support after councillors backed the idea.

Liberal Democrat councillor Jack Haines has described it as a "fresh idea" in a regional newspapaer and he has urged people in Hull to get behind it, saying it could end poverty, insecurity and financial worry.

UBI would replace some existing social security benefits and people can spend it how they like. 

Image: Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Drake-Davis.

Hull city councillors recently backed a proposal from Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Drake-Davis to explore the possibility of the city becoming the first place in the UK to trial UBI.

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