The proposal for a groundbreaking pilot scheme could, according to experts, end absolute poverty in Greater Manchester for good and improve the health and wellbeing of millions of people. It aims to provide homeless people (or those at risk of homelessness) with a sense of financial security, creating a platform from which they can begin to rebuild their lives.
Sam Gregory*
Led by academics from Northumbria University and campaigners at the UBI Lab Network, the new paper outlines a pilot for a Basic Income that would eventually be given to everyone in Greater Manchester, regardless of income, wealth or work.
The authors say if rolled out fully such a monthly payment would create an ‘income floor’ nobody could fall below, ending absolute poverty in the city for good, improving the health and wellbeing of its citizens, and making it easier for those on unemployment benefit to get back into work.
The proposal to pilot the idea has been instigated by UBI Lab Manchester (part of the UK-wide UBI Lab Network), a grassroots group that aims to explore the potential of Basic Income within the city, and would initially involve hundreds of people at risk of homelessness in the area.
As a demonstration of the wider potential of a Basic Income, the pilot would aim to provide homeless people (or those at risk of homelessness) in Greater Manchester with a sense of financial security, creating a platform from which they can start to rebuild their lives.
Matthew Johnson, Professor of Public Policy from Northumbria University, and one of the authors of the report, said: “At a time in which ambition and vision is required more than ever, Greater Manchester stands out as a beacon of hope for progressive policy. Basic Income is a pragmatic, affordable, feasible and, most importantly, overwhelmingly popular policy.
“It is popular because it deals with the root causes of today’s challenges: the financial insecurity that affects almost all of us, especially in the north. The proposals within this report are an opportunity for Greater Manchester to lead on national renewal by setting out a fundamentally transformative scheme that will capture Britain’s interest.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. after meeting members of UBI Lab Manchester, in his 2024 re-election manifesto (p25) he pledged to “bring forward a Basic Income pilot” which would “test whether a different, more preventative way of supporting people would lead to better use of public funds”.
The manifesto continued: “Greater Manchester would be unable to bring this pilot forward on our own but will make the case for hosting one to the next Government.”
Today, the authors of ‘A Basic Income for Greater Manchester: Plans for a feasible, affordable and popular pilot’ sent their proposal to Burnham directly, and are calling on him to make good on his word and take their groundbreaking pilot proposal to the Treasury.
The proposal
This will initially target the region’s most vulnerable citizens: people from deeply disadvantaged backgrounds who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness.
The pilot would run over two years, and would see each participant receive £1,600 per month. The cost for this would be £7.68m for 200 recipients, or £3.84m for 100 recipients. The team are proposing that the costs to run a pilot could be raised through a combination of central government support, public donations, reallocated service funding from the GMCA itself, and support from philanthropic organisations.
”This is a unique opportunity for Greater Manchester to pioneer in preventing crises of homelessness, mental and physical ill-health, crime and inactivity,” write the report’s authors.
Briefings for MPs
On 27 February, the authors of the Manchester pilot proposal will host a briefing session for MPs within the Palace of Westminster on the potential transformative benefits of a Basic Income for Greater Manchester and the rest of the UK.
The team behind the Manchester pilot proposal believe: it is more feasible and popular than alternatives, such as Minimum Income Guarantee and increases in Universal Credit; it is affordable, socially feasible and popular; it can produce valuable evidence around the impact of preventive policies on poverty: it has the support of local communities and builds on similar pilots such as the Welsh Government’s Basic Income Pilot for Care Leavers; there are clear pathways to funding a pilot of sufficient size without requiring revisions to tax codes; and this is an opportunity for progressive politicians to be brave and to demonstrate that big thinking can solve crises of insecurity
Unlike other schemes aimed at addressing poverty, such as a Minimum Income Guarantee, a so-called ‘Living Income’ or increases in Universal Credit, a Basic Income would be individual rather than household-based.
This would provide greater levels of security to recipients, and would give people the financial freedom to leave abusive or controlling relationships as they would receive their Basic Income personally and directly.
Compared to other schemes, a Basic Income would also address ‘perverse incentives’ (for example, that if you’re on some benefits there is almost no financial advantage to getting a job), and would provide a ‘safety floor’ that nobody could fall below, no matter their life circumstances.
In February last year, UBI Lab Manchester hosted an event with Mark Donovan, founder of the Denver Basic Income Project, who is currently running a pilot project in Denver involving homeless people – similar to that proposed for Greater Manchester.
Donovan told attendees how the interim results of the pilot showed that homeless people receiving a regular and unconditional income were able to make significant positive changes to their lives, thanks to the financial security offered by the Basic Income.
The Welsh Government, which like Greater Manchester is run by a Labour administration, recently carried out a two-year pilot of a Basic Income involving young people leaving care.
Each of the 500 participants, all aged between 18 and 20, received £1,600 per month from 2022-2024. While the full results of the pilot have not yet been released, preliminary results suggest this intervention has already demonstrated a positive impact on financial stability among an extremely disadvantaged group of people.
Alison Hawdale, co-founder of UBI Lab Manchester, saidthat “Greater Manchester is a proud and dynamic part of the world, and for hundreds of years its famously creative citizens have shown themselves to be resilient, resourceful and forward-thinking. But we have chronic problems around poverty, homelessness, mental health and crime which have not gone away, despite decades of action from local and national government, community groups and business. It’s time to try something new.”
*Information provided by: Sam Gregory, UBI Lab Network.
(Photos: Pixabay)
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