Politics

Universal Income plans depend on Westminster

Published

4 years ago

May 21, 2021

MARK DRAKEFORD’s announcement that the Welsh Government plans to trial Universal Basic Income in a few locations in Wales captured headlines in online media.

The First Minister was variously said to have ‘hinted’ at a trial or announced a trial would take place.

However, nobody should have been surprised by the First Minister’s announcement.

Not only was the policy contained in Labour’s Manifesto for May 6’s election – a bit more than ’a hint’ – but also the principle of holding a trial in Wales was enthusiastically passed by the last Welsh Parliament in September last year. It was a policy in Plaid Cymru’s election manifesto and Labour’s; so, whether Labour went it alone in Government or was in partnership with Plaid Cymru, a trial was on the cards.

WG KNOWS WESTMINSTER HAS THE FINAL WORD

However, whether the Welsh Government can carry out a trial is beyond its immediate control.

Headlines that said the Welsh Government WILL carry out even limited Universal Basic Income trials are also jumping the gun.

When the Senedd debated a motion brought forward by Jack Sargeant MS on September 30, 2020, here is what the Finance Minister Rebecca Evans had to say about it: “The Welsh Government would be open to such a trial taking place in Wales, but we have to be realistic that such a trial would not be possible without the active cooperation of the UK Government, and this is because of the interaction of universal basic income with the tax and benefit system.

“If such a trial were offered, we would also require that conditions were met to ensure that the Welsh Government and this Senedd were able to play a significant role in the design, governance and accountability of any scheme.

“Were the Welsh Government to make payments to individuals without the cooperation of the UK Government, this could simply result in them being ineligible for existing benefits or paying more in tax.

“Aside from the fact that this would not then be a proper test of the effect of an unconditional payment, it would result in the transfer of resources from the Welsh Government to the UK Government.

“And, sadly, our recent experience of the UK Government’s approach to the taxation of our payments to social care workers doesn’t suggest that we should expect their active cooperation.”

In short, the Welsh Government needs Westminster’s ‘active cooperation’ to make a trial possible.

Without Westminster’s cooperation, those who get the Universal Basic Income could (are almost certain to) lose all of their entitlements to other benefits, tax credits, and other means-tested benefits. They could also have to pay tax on it.

WHAT IS UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME?

Universal Basic Income is not a new idea. Its long history stretches back to antiquity and has been a feature of both romantic and progressive political theory for centuries.

At its simplest, Universal Basic Income does away with a raft of welfare benefits. It substitutes them with a single payment of a fixed amount.

Schemes that guarantee a basic income, short of enough to live on, exist in a few US states and a handful of national economies. However, those are more of an income floor for those who are otherwise dependent on welfare benefits. They are not an actual Universal Basic Income.

A national trial in Finland ended after two years with no definitive finding of better outcomes for those who received UBI over those who did not.

The Covid pandemic increased interest in the idea of UBI in continental Europe. At the same time, the US used a series of relatively modest income replacement initiatives to stop people’s descent into poverty (or into deeper poverty).

The UK’s furlough scheme was – essentially – a basic income guarantee but not genuinely universal in nature.

A major multi-national academic study published in 2017 found that UBI probably improved some health outcomes and increased the likelihood of children attending school.

However, the same report also concluded the evidence for positive outcomes from UBI-type schemes was ‘very uncertain’.

THE COST TO WALES

The main deterrent to a truly Universal Basic Income is cost.

• If a full universal basic income were paid in Wales to all working-age adults and set at the level of the official living wage, the cost would be around £35 billion a year.

• If set at the level of the real living wage, the cost would be around £40 billion.

• For illustration, those figures are around twice the size of the Welsh Government’s budget. As a further comparison, income tax in Wales raises in total just over £5 billion.

• Of course, the costs could be much reduced if universal basic income were paid at a lower rate. However, payment at a lower rate would reduce its attractiveness.

Those last four points are not our own words. They are the Welsh Government’s position as set out in 2020 by its own Finance Minister.

Nothing has changed those figures since September 30, 2020.

They demonstrate the prohibitive and unsupportable cost of UBI to Wales without massive and systemic change across the whole UK.

SCOTCH MIST

As an illustrative example of the timescales and complexity of introducing even a pilot scheme, we only need to look at Scotland.

In September 2017, the Scottish Government announced it would support local authority areas to explore a Citizen’s Basic Income Scheme by establishing a fund to help regions to develop their proposals further and establish appropriate testing.

The funding offered was £250,000 over the two financial years 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Four local authority areas: Fife Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Glasgow City Council and North Ayrshire Council, worked together to research and explore the feasibility of local pilots of Basic Income in Scotland.

Notlaunch a basic income. Explore its feasibility.

Over three and a half years since the Scottish Government’s announcement, there is still no UBI trial in Scotland.

Putting such a scheme in place depends, yet again, on Westminster’s cooperation.

A report on the progress of the feasibility study notes’ any pilot [must] have the necessary support to influence the future of national policy and the role of Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), HM Treasury and the NHS will be vital in the design and implementation of a Basic Income pilot.’

Three years to design and complete a feasibility study into a limited trial in four local authority areas in Scotland combined with the need to wait for Westminster approval does not suggest a quick fix.

And if it’s not a rapid process in Scotland, it will scarcely be quicker in Wales.

Education

Pembrokeshire free school transport call to be heard at County Hall

Published

10 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to allow school pupils from Johnston and Tiers Cross access to free school transport to the nearby Haverfordwest high school is to be heard by councillors next week.

Due to a change in catchment areas the pupils are no longer able to access free transport to Haverfordwest, instead coming under the Milford Haven catchment area.

A petition calling for the reinstatement of the former catchment area to access free transport for pupils to Haverfordwest was recently started in the county.

The e-petition, which ran from September 18-November 1 on the council’s own website, attracted 351 signatures, meeting the threshold for a debate at the relevant Pembrokeshire County Council overview and scrutiny committee, in this case the Schools And Learning Overview And Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 28.

The petition, started by Kirsty Coaker, reads: “We call on Pembrokeshire County Council to change Johnston and Tiers Cross School Catchment back to Haverfordwest.

“Children of Johnston and Tiers Cross are now ineligible for free school transport to Haverfordwest High due to the areas no longer being in ‘catchment’.

“Both Johnston and Tiers Cross are Haverfordwest postal codes and are classed as Haverfordwest, yet the school catchment is Milford Haven.

“Please help our children access suitable transport to and from secondary school.”

The e-petition will now be considered at the November 28 meeting.

Climate

Pembrokeshire group plans for larger community wind turbine

Published

10 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A NORTH Pembrokeshire group which has raised more than £76,000 from its community wind turbine for local projects is hoping to expand with a bigger turbine.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, Abergwaun Community Turbine Ltd, through agent Machynlleth-based Dulas Ltd is hoping to get permission for a larger turbine to replace the existing Abergwaun Community Turbine.

The proposed turbine, in a pasture field at Trebover Farm, to the south of Fishguard, would be 67m tall, the existing 2015 one being 45 metres.

In supporting statements, parent company Transition Bro Gwaun said: “The Community Climate Fund (CCF) is the mechanism by which Transition Bro Gwaun (TBG) is fulfilling our ambition of funding projects in Fishguard, Goodwick and across North Pembrokeshire, using income from the community wind turbine.

“The core themes for grants are climate change mitigation and adaptation, enhancement of biodiversity and improvements to community resilience through promotion of community engagement and resource sharing.”

In 2015, TBG raised its 50 per cent share of capital funding for the project by means of loans from 28 local individuals and four community groups, contributing a total of £286,500, the other 50 per cent contributed by landowners Parc-y-Morfa Farms Ltd.

The statement added: “Profit generated by sale of electricity from the turbine is split 50:50 between TBG and Parcy-Morfa Farms Ltd through the jointly owned trading arm, Abergwaun Community Turbine. By the end of 2022, all loans had been repaid, allowing the launch of TBG’s Community Climate Fund. This year we have awarded our third round of grants bringing the total amount granted to £76,036.”

In 2022, £15,274 was awarded to seven projects, including Fishguard Sports AFC to install solar panels on their clubhouse as part of their Tregroes Park development, Ysgol Bro Gwaun for their Increasing Biodiversity and Bees project, and Nevern Valley Veg / Llysiau Cwm Nyfer to install a solar powered vegetable irrigation scheme.

In 2023, £39,85 was made available for seven projects, including Sea Trust Wales to part fund the installation of solar panels on the Ocean Lab roof and to produce a display on solar technology, Letterston Memorial Hall to part fund the installation of an air source heat pump heating system, and Fishguard and Goodwick Rugby Club to install solar panels on their clubhouse.

2024 awards of £20,917 were made to six projects, including Theatr Gwaun to insulate their loft to reduce heating loss, Parc Cerrig Growers for developing a rainwater harvesting system with a pond to irrigate their allotments, Caerhys Organic Community Agriculture for an electric cargo bike for delivering organic vegetables in the Fishguard and St Davids areas, and Nevern Valley Veg to develop wildlife ponds and rainwater harvesting for food production.

The supporting documentation concludes: “The repowering of the existing turbine at Trebover would require a limited increase in turbine size which would result in a very limited change in landscape and visual effects in comparison to the existing Trebover turbine.”

The application will be considered by planners at a later date.

Business

Call to end ‘fad’ of ‘school dogs’ in Pembrokeshire

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL to end the ‘fad’ of permanent ‘school dogs’ in Pembrokeshire for their benefit and the befit of the schools, instead using visiting ‘therapy dogs’ is to be heard next week.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Schools And Learning Overview And Scrutiny Committee meeting of November 28 will consider a public submission by Robert Thomas – who works with therapy dogs – on the subject of school dogs.

The submission reads: “My definition of a school dog is one that spends long periods in the school and is managed and owned by school employees not outside assessed and insured visiting therapy dogs who stay for an hour with a competent handler.

“The welfare of many dogs in schools in Pembrokeshire has been compromised over the last few years and we are concerned that the rise in the popularity of school-owned or teacher-owned dogs is an animal welfare issue.

“I can think of several school dogs in Pembrokeshire where it has gone wrong for the animal.”

He cites examples of ‘school dogs’ the county, where he says they have had to be removed, with the animals being unsettled, barking and even nipping on occasions, showing “a lack of understanding of animal welfare”.

His submission adds: “We have done some work with the Animal Welfare team at the Welsh Government around licensing this field, a consultation was completed in March 2023, currently awaiting the outcome.

“It has become a fad across the country and many dogs spend all day in schools supported by staff members who have another job to do. It feels like PCC does not have a policy overarching animal welfare policy in schools to protect dogs from being seen as staff members and there purely for human benefit, not the dogs.

“Dogs need to rest and sleep during the day and not in school. The visiting therapy dog model works best as the impact is greatest and the welfare of the dog is managed externally. If the dog is there all the time that can diminish the impact, and the novelty can wear off for the pupils.

“In my experience schools should concentrate on teaching and leave the therapy dog introduction to those that have the expertise in animal welfare.”

The submission will be considered by committee members at the November 28 meeting.