The Guardian newspaper reports that the UK Treasury is considering sending vouchers to everyone to spend on a range of goods. This would not be a Basic Income, but it shares some of its characteristics and would be an interesting experiment to watch.

Radical plans to give all adults £500 and children £250 in vouchers to spend in sectors of the economy worst hit by the Covid-19 crisis are being considered by the Treasury.

The proposals, drawn up by the Resolution Foundation thinktank, which has had recent talks with the Treasury about its ideas, are aimed at kickstarting economic recovery by triggering a highly targeted surge in spending. Under the plans the vouchers could only be spent in certain sectors, such as hospitality and “face to face” retail, as opposed to online.

What is particularly interesting about the idea is that it would require the UK Government to establish the kind of database that would be required for the payment for a Basic Income.