The document discusses the proposal for a universal basic income (UBI) in Sheffield, highlighting its potential benefits in reforming the current tax-benefit system, which is viewed as unfair and complex. It outlines a series of discussions and workshops aimed at exploring the logistics of implementing UBI, including funding, target demographics, and housing considerations. The document also emphasizes the need for public engagement and political collaboration to build support and possibly pilot the program in Sheffield.

1. Basic Income for Sheffield
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1st June 2017

2. 7.00 - Ryan Powell - Welcome
7.05 - Simon Duffy - What is basic income?
7.15 - Rich Crisp - What could it be like in practice?
7.20 - Simon - How could we get there?
7.30 - 3 Workshops
8.30 - Feedback
8.40 - Final thoughts
8.55 - Ryan
9.00 - clearup
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3. Universal Basic Income (or #basicincome) is a
proposal to radically reform the tax-benefit system.
The current system seems unfair, too complex,
dysfunctional, intrusive and stigmatising.
Basic Income is a simpler and universal alternative:
Everyone gets a regular payment to ensure they
can live with dignity
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4. 1. Fair - Enough for everyone and a stake for all
2. Efficient - Rewarding economic contribution
3. Democratic - Enabling community participation
4. Necessary - Security combined with flexibility
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5. £
What’s wrong with the
current tax-benefit system?

6. • Child benefit (eldest) = £20.70 (£1,080)
• Pension = £122. 30 (£6,360)
• Basic tax credit = £37.70 (£1,960)
• JSA (over 25) = £73.10 (£3,800)
• Tax allowance = £44.20 (£11,500 @20% = £2,300)
• ESA (support group) = £109.65 (£5,700)
• LHA (1 bed Sheffield) = £94.80 (£4,930)
• DLA (highest) = £83.10 (£4,320)
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7. Unfair: poorest pay most tax, while
the ‘middle’ get most benefits
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8. £
Inefficient: highest rates of
marginal tax hit the poorest hardest

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Disrespectful: the system
fixates on paid work

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Insecure: the economy has
changed for ever

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Developing a model
(how simple is simple?)

12. 1. How much? - What’s a fair and sustainable level?
2. Who gets it? - What about immigrants or refugees?
3. Should it change with age? - Do younger or older people need more or less?
4. Must it be individualised? - Should we build it around families instead?
5. What about housing? - Do housing costs need a different system?
6. What about disability? - Would disabled people or carers get more?
7. How would you fund it? - Is income tax the only option? (monetary reform?)
8. What about duties? - Should we build in extra responsibilities?
9. How often? - Should payments be weekly, monthly or something else?
10. How administered? - Could we integrate the tax-benefit system?
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13. £
Agree Disagree Don’t know
£4,000 for working age adults is enough 1 12 3
For all taxpayers, (ie include immigrants) 11 1 2
Should be the same for all ages 8 5 1
A family-based version is acceptable 0 14 1
Housing costs should be included 2 7 5
Disabled people should get more 9 1 5
Funding through income tax makes sense 0 5 10
People should be given social duties 0 14 1
Payments should be weekly 2 3 9
Tax and benefit systems should be integrated 5 2 8

14. The group had a lively intelligent debate on the question of
what basic income model should work. Although there was
no complete agreement, there were some points of strong
consensus:
• System should be fully individualised and consistent, at
least for all adults, with a starting level certainly no lower
than current state pension.
• Housing costs need careful and distinct attention, but
adding a disability supplement may be feasible.
• The system should be universal for all tax-payers and not
restricted to UK citizens and with no conditionality.
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15. £
Testing, testing…

16. £
slide from leading basic income researcher Jurgen de Wispelaere

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18. Could Sheffield pilot it?
• Pilot schemes aim to explore what the impact of a full basic
income scheme would be, but can also aim to help groups of
people in the short term.
• Maybe it wouldn’t be possible to pilot basic income for a whole
city, but we could have a partial pilot?
• Focus on a group: e.g. focus on people who are homeless,
people who are unemployed, people with disabilities
• Focus on an area: e.g. one of the Mosborough townships
• Do a virtual pilot: e.g. explore with people how their behaviour
would change if receiving a Basic Income
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19. What is success?
• Improve people’s health?
• Reduce malnutrition and the use of food banks?
• Reduce stress and improve mental health?
• Increase people’s level of contribution to community life?
• Help people find more meaningful work or pursue life goals?
• Alleviate pressure on public services?
• Anything else?
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20. What will people do?
Researcher Rich Crisp described how we already have
interesting data on how people might behave if there
were a basic income. Incapacity Benefit used to be
treated as, effectively, an unconditional entitlement.
These people often flourished by developing new social
roles within their communities, instead of being pushed
into low paid and inappropriate work.
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21. The group discussed an ideal pilot study for Sheffield. Initial thoughts
included:
• Pilot study must reflect a cross-section of society - not one particular
group
• Must explore possibility of work progression and alternative forms of
social contribution. It can be incremental, but must be aspirational.
• We will need to explore complexity of housing costs and household
formation.
• Will require people to get people out of benefit system altogether and
perhaps we could seek money independently of Government
• If BI was £6,000 then for a sample size of 2,000 the cost would be £12
million per year (less cost of benefits now).
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22. £
Growing a movement

23. Basic income is a universal system - like the NHS. We
all contribute and all benefit.
Income security would stop being a minority issue. It
would matter to everyone. But this means:
• We must discuss, debate and agree it
• We must get organised to make it happen
• We must be able to amend it over time
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24. £
Leading activists putting the case for UBI to Work & Pensions Select Committee

25. Progress in Birmingham
• Process started at Unison West Midlands
• Stalls - public awareness raising
• Working with Green, Labour and faith groups
• Pressure on Mayoral candidates
• Interest from new Tory Mayor
• Working with Chamber of Commerce
• Wider campaign in September seeking to strengthen turn
interest into commitment
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26. Progress in Scotland
• Glasgow working with RSA on a model for basic
income
• Fife and North Ayrshire also exploring option
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27. We discussed the communication challenge:
• Communicating the idea of basic income can be a challenge
• But it is an interesting thing to talk about - it engages people -
it gives a fresh start to discussions about welfare state. Its a
good topic to engage schools, universities
• Pensioners are already on a basic income… already a live
question - life after work! Can we use this fact?
• Need to engage different values from different parts of the
political spectrum
• Get people thinking differently about their own life - work and
citizenship
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28. Basic Income UK: www.basicincome.org.uk
Citizens income Trust: www.citizensincome.org
IPR: http://www.bath.ac.uk/ipr/policy-briefs/working-papers/the-fiscal-and-distributional-
implications-of-alternative-universal-basic-income-schemes-in-the-uk.html
Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/dec/10/finland-universal-basic-
income-ubi-social-security
Centre for Welfare Reform: http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/by-az/lets-scrap-the-
dwp.html
Basic Income Plus: http://www.centreforwelfarereform.org/library/by-az/basic-income-plus.html
JRF: https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/citizens-income-full.pdf
BIEN: http://basicincome.org/news/2017/05/basic-income-experiments-and-those-so-called-
early-2017-updates/
Jurgen de Wispelaere: https://bath.academia.edu/JurgenDeWispelaere
Work & Pensions Select Committee: https://t.co/MRQnBXjhDi
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29. • Do you want to get involved in thinking about basic
income?
• Do you want to help encourage others to debate
basic income?
• Do you want to try and make basic income real in
Sheffield?
• Can we get funding to run a pilot now in Sheffield?
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